The Blue Typhoon flew at full speed towards Cryptic Castle. Inside, the heroes prepared themselves for the coming battle. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were being treated in the medbay, whilst Shadow was with Finitevus in the ship's lab, helping him make adjustments to his Chaos Syphon.

"I'm terribly sorry for this," Finitevus said. "You have the most talent using Chaos Energy among our group, so your assistance is of great help."

"Don't worry about it. But while I can use Chaos Energy, I don't know that much about it, or how it works. It's mostly instinctual."

"I had heard your creator, Professor Gerald, was the leading authority on Chaos Energy. Did he not impart any of that knowledge onto you?"

Shadow shook his head. "No. The Professor never intended me to be a weapon. My abilities come from the Black Arm blood used to create me."

"'Black Arm blood'?"

"An alien race. Their leader had considerable command over Chaos Energy."

Finitevus' face lit up. "An alien race that could harness Chaos Energy? My word! I would very much like to see them!"

"Well, you missed your chance. They attacked Earth a year ago, and I was forced to wipe them all out in order to protect the planet. I don't know if there are any more out there, but as for the ones that visited Earth? There were no survivors."

Finitevus frowned. "That's unfortunate."

"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen what they were like. Trust me, it's for the best."

Finitevus checked his notes, and then made further adjustments to his device. "You're a curious fellow, Shadow. You seem kind enough, noble even, yet unlike Sonic and his other friends, you have no qualms when it comes to killing."

"Sonic likes to see the good in others. He'd give someone unlimited chances, and only resort to killing when there truly is no other choice. That works for him, but I'd rather not risk innocent lives on a gamble."

"I see. And if you had brought Dimitri to his knees, rendering him powerless?"

"I'd arrest him." Shadow took out his Chaos Emerald and grasped it. "But if he tried to continue fighting, I'd put him down. I won't lower my guard to show mercy, but I won't just kill a defeated enemy, either."

Finitevus smiled. "Even though you're immortal, you respect the sanctity of life. I'm glad. You and the others are proof that power doesn't always corrupt." Finitevus finished his adjustments and aimed his device at Shadow. "Okay, try to channel as much Chaos Energy as you can."

Shadow nodded, and closed his eyes as he focussed. The Chaos Emerald began to glow a bright green, and a green aura wrapped itself around Shadow's body. Finitevus fired the device, and a beam of energy struck the hedgehog. It turned green and began flowing backwards, into the Chaos Syphon.

An alarm started ringing from the device, and Finitevus hit a button labelled 'ABORT' on the side, shutting it off. "No good?" Shadow asked.

"Now it's the opposite problem. It's absorbing too much Chaos Energy at once. I'll need to make further adjustments."

"Yo, we there yet?" Sonic asked as he, Tails and Knuckles entered the bridge.

"About twenty, maybe thirty minutes away yet," Nate replied. "How are you feeling?"

"All better now, thanks to Tails' invention." Sonic grabbed Tails in a headlock, the two of them laughing. "Who needs a hospital when you've got Tails tech?"

Tails laughed, wriggling free from the hold. "It was just a few scrapes and bruises," he said. "We'd be in a lot more trouble if we had any real injuries. My machine is more of a first aid unit. It can also do massages, if anyone's sore."

"I may have to take you up on that offer," Nate said, craning and rubbing his neck. He and the others laughed.

Finitevus entered behind the heroes, adjusting his glasses as he kept his eyes down. "Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Worse than Dimitri on his way to nab his sixth Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked.

"Actually, yes. You see, the Chaos Syphon… isn't as ready as we thought it was. It works just as we had hoped, but it turns out there's a problem with capacity. It can only hold so much energy at once."

"So it's no good?" Shade asked.

"I'm working to rectify the problem. If I just had more time, and access to a bigger lab. Oh, not that the one here is insufficient, mind you, it's just that I'm having to revisit all of my calculations and rework the entire device, and there's so little time to-"

"Doc, relax," Sonic said. "It's fine, really. You're doing all you can, right? We can't ask for more than that."

"Sorry if I came off a little short there," Shade said. "Please don't push yourself too far, Doctor. Even if the Chaos Syphon isn't ready, we'll find another way."

Finitevus grumbled. "But then you'll be the ones pushing yourselves. This is all I can do to help, so I want to make sure I don't let you down. Besides, if Dimitri acquires all of the Chaos Emeralds, I doubt there even will be another way."

"Well, now that Tails is back, I think I can take a look with you," Nate said. "But as Sonic says, you can only do what you can do. Don't fret if we cannot figure this out before the final battle."

"If you're that worried about it, then we just need to make sure there's no need for the Syphon in the first place, right?" Sonic said with a wink. Just then, alarms went off. "What's that?!"

"Enemy incoming!" Amy shouted.

Tails hopped into his seat and lowered a few monitors, displaying ships from the Egg Fleet approaching them. "The Egg Fleet?! But how? Only Eggman can mobilise it, and he's currently…"

"The only thing I can think of," Nate began, "Is that they forced Ivo to send all of his forces after us."

"Why would they bother doing that?" Knuckles asked.

"To slow us down, naturally."

"Which means Dimitri's scared of us," Sonic said. "Tails, find the fastest way through and book it. We'll take care of any ships in the way, right Knux?"

Knuckles punched his fists together. "You got it!"

"Time to engage?" Shade asked.

"One minute," Amy reported.

Shade turned to Tails. "Does this ship have weapons?" Tails nodded. "Then we'll offer them support from here. Julie-Su, you with me?"

"Of course."

"What about me?" Amy asked.

"I'll need some help running the calculations to navigate through the fleet of ships," Tails said. "Can you stay and lend me a hand?"

Amy pouted. "Awww, phooey! I wanted to go skydiving with Sonic!"

Sonic and Knuckles headed out, whilst Shade and Julie-Su followed.

"The Egg Fleet has engaged the Blue Typhoon as ordered, Boss," Orbot reported.

Eggman grumbled. While he was happy to be giving Sonic a hard time, he knew that the small fleet he had sent their way was only going to a nuisance to them for so long, before being blown out of the sky. Without him there to issue orders, his robots would follow the most-basic protocols and would easily be taken down. An entire armada, used as nothing more than a shield to buy these echidnas time! "I'll never live down this humiliation."

"You say something, Doctor?" Lien-Da asked, chuckling as she watched his obvious discomfort. "Awww, don't be so sour. You should feel honoured. It's not every day that we show such mercy to one of our conquered foes. We're allowing you to maintain control of your robots, and granting you your freedom after we're done. All you have to do is be a good boy and follow our orders in the meantime. Hardly a bad deal, if you ask me."

Eggman was perplexed. Even if the Nocturnus thought so little of him, they must have seen the problem with letting him go free once all this was over. It's not like he had sent all his remaining forces to fight Sonic and the others, and he wasn't exactly masking his obvious contempt for them. Either they were really planning on killing him after all, or they were very confident in whatever scheme they were trying to pull off.

"What are we even doing here, anyway?" Eggman asked, looking out of the nearest window and seeing the vast Mazuri landscape outside. "I told you that this was the wrong way! We're losing valuable time!"

"The Imperator simply has something he needs to pick up, so hold onto your moustache, old man."

"Do you understand?" Eggman peered down the boarding ramp, seeing Dimitri talking to the hovering Gizoid just outside. "I want the entire Gizoid army ready to mobilize right away." The Gizoid nodded. "Good. Gather at the location specified in one hour and remain on standby."

Eggman sat back down as Dimitri boarded the ship. He was now wearing a pair of blue, plated gauntlets with golden trims, and carrying a golden helmet. "That's what we came here for? A suit of armour?" Eggman shook his head. "You don't even have the full set!"

"No, I don't," Dimitri agreed. "Not yet. But do not concern yourself with my wardrobe, Doctor. We are ready to leave now, so order your robots to fly us to Cryptic Castle."

"Y'know ya could just ask us yerself," Cubot said. "I mean, we already agreed to take ya there and-" Dimitri grabbed his staff, and Cubot turned his attention back to the controls. "Errr, plottin' a course to Cryptic Castle now, Boss! ETA: one hour!"

One of the Egg Fleet's airships exploded as Sonic and Knuckles tore through its engine and broke through the hull, riding the explosion to soar through the air towards their next target. They landed on a length of rail among the debris, grinding through the smoke and jumping as the next ship fired on them. They jumped between the falling chunks of metal, making their way to the deck of the next airship, where an army of SWATbots awaited them.

The two fought through the robots and ran along the deck, where cannons began firing. The Blue Typhoon flew alongside the ship and fired at the cannons, clearing the way for the two.

Knuckles scaled the massive airship's walls as Sonic ran through the interior, taking down the robots waiting for him and climbing his way to the top of the ship. The two would eventually meet as they entered the bridge at the same time, Sonic busting his way through the door and Knuckles coming in through the window. The confused robots didn't know which one to shoot first, and before they could make up their minds, the duo took them out.

"You know how to fly this thing?" Sonic asked.

"Well enough." Knuckles approached the steering wheel and spun it all the way to the left, then broke it off and tossed it aside. Sonic messed with some knobs and levers on the control panels and then used his spindash to smash the device, locking the ship into turning tightly towards the other ships to its left. "Think we'd better scram!"

As the ship crashed into the first ship in its path, Sonic and Knuckles jumped off and began diving through the sky. Explosions rang out above them and debris began falling as the Blue Typhoon positioned itself beneath them, and they came in for a landing on top. "We good, Tails?!"

"Just one more, Sonic! That big one is directly in my path!"

Sonic whistled as he caught sight of the enormous carrier that Tails was referring to. It was equipped with heavy firepower that could easily down the Blue Typhoon, even with its powerful shielding, and was easily five times the size of the other airships surrounding it.

A large panel opened nearby, and a cannon rose up beside Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic jumped into the cannon, followed by Knuckles, and the two were fired in the direction of the carrier. As they landed, they were immediately greeted by Egg Hammers and Chaos Gamma units. The surrounding airships began to fire on them, prompting Shade and Julie-Su to start shooting down their cannons.

Knuckles threw Sonic at one of the Egg Hammers, knocking it down into two of its buddies behind it, and then leapt at the Chaos Gammas, evading their shots as his fist crashed down into the metal flooring beneath them. The shockwave stunned the Chaos Gammas, making them easy targets for his fists, and when the last one fell, he and Sonic stood back-to-back in the middle of a ring of Egg Hammers.

"What's the matter? Couldn't take 'em on your own?" Knuckles taunted. "You can take a break if you're tired."

"Hah! Looks who's talkin'! Don't feel you gotta overdo it to impress your girlfriend!"

"What girlfriend?!" Knuckles shouted, almost falling over. "Julie-Su isn't my-"

"I never said anything about Julie-Su." Sonic laughed as Knuckles grumbled. The Egg Hammers attacked them, and the two broke off to take them down one-by-one. "Don't be shy!" Sonic said as he kicked one of the Egg Hammers to the ground. "Nothin' wrong with havin' a crush!"

"Can it!" Knuckles punched a hole through one of the Egg Hammers, causing it to collapse. "I don't wanna hear it, not from you of all people!"

"What? Just 'cause I'm the world's coolest hedgehog, doesn't mean I can't appreciate romance." Sonic used his speed to run circles around another Egg Hammer, causing it to lose its balance. Knuckles delivered a punch that knocked its head off, causing it to fall.

"No, I mean it doesn't feel right hearing that from the guy who still can't make up his mind how he feels about a certain pink hedgehog."

Sonic froze, his eyes darting away from Knuckles. "Hey, y'know, we'd better not keep the others waitin'! I'm going on ahead!"

Before Knuckles could protest, Sonic boosted on ahead, leaving him to fight the remaining robots on his own. "Feh. Look at him tryin' ta act all cool… This is one time I'm not gonna let him get the upper hand." One of the Egg Hammers swung at Knuckles, who caught the hammer and tossed it aside. He then leapt at another and delivered a flurry of punches, breaking through its armour and destroying the machinery inside.

Two more Egg Hammers attempted to crush him together from opposite sides, but Knuckles evaded their attacks, guiding their hammers so that they struck each other. With each robot stunned, Knuckles was able to take them down easily.

After finishing off the remaining Egg Hammers, Knuckles ran through the ship, following the path of destruction left behind by Sonic to catch up to him in the engine room. "Just in time, Knuckles! I'm about ta crash this eyesore!"

"You know what? You're right," Knuckles said, confusing Sonic. "I think I like Julie-Su. And I think she likes me, too."

"O-Oh… Uh, well, yeah, I'd say she does," Sonic said, scratching the back of his head. "Good for you, Knux!"

"So now it's your turn. What's the deal with you and Amy?"

"Is this really the time to be bringing this up?" Sonic asked with a shrug.

"You brought it up." Knuckles grinned at the tinge of red appearing on Sonic's face. "What, can't handle it when the tables are turned?"

Sonic maintained his composure, returning Knuckles' grin with his own. "Okay, okay, I get it. Sorry for teasin' ya. Happy?"

"A little. I kinda wanna see you embarrassed a bit more…" Knuckles turned to the large engine ahead of them, several Egg Pawns running out to protect it, "But we're short on time. I'll leave it at that."

"Alright, then you wanna do the honours?" Sonic ran towards the robots, taking them out and clearing a path to the engine. Knuckles gathered energy into his body, turning red as he ran straight for it, leaving the robots to Sonic.

As he punched the engine with his Maximum Heat Attack, it began to explode. He turned and ran with Sonic back to the deck, where they found the Blue Typhoon passing under the quaking ship. They leapt from the side, and landed safely aboard.

"That did it!" Tails cheered, and Sonic and Knuckles fist bumped. "Come on back inside. Next stop: Cryptic Castle!"

Aboard Eggman's transport ship, Lien-Da finished debriefing Dimitri on what had happened to her brother, Kragok. Or at least, her version of the events that took place. "If it's any consolation, sir, he fought 'til the very end. He died a true warrior's death."

Dimitri regarded Lien-Da in silence for a short while, his gaze unfaltering. "Is that so?" he finally said. "What a shame. I had high hopes for the boy, but I suppose in the end, it was still too soon to send him into combat. Perhaps you should return now, before-"

"I promise, I won't meet the same end," Lien-Da said, bowing her head. "I have learned from my brother's mistakes, and will not repeat them. And in any case, I would sooner die than retreat with my tail between my legs."

Dimitri grinned. "Indeed. Then I will permit you to stay." Dimitri rose to his feet. Lien-Da also stood, and watched as he removed his gloves, replacing them with those once worn by Enerjak. Dimitri then put on the Enerjak's helmet, and then grabbed his staff.

"Can you use Enerjak's power with just two pieces, sir?"

"You will see," was Dimitri's response, before he turned to Doctor Eggman. "What is the status of Sonic and his friends?"

"Well?" Eggman asked Orbot and Cubot.

"It appears they have passed the blockade," Orbot reported. "We have lost eleven ships, including one of the large carriers."

"And how long until they get here?"

"At an estimate? Ten minutes."

"You will have your robots ready to engage the moment they arrive," Dimitri ordered.

Eggman grumbled, but carried out the order nonetheless. A red light filled the room, and Lien-Da looked out of one of the windows. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's just my drone, checking the inside of the ship. Since there were no ships scheduled to arrive here today, my security system is making sure it hasn't been hijacked. Nothing to worry about, though; with Orbot and Cubot at the controls and myself in the back, the system will recognise us as friendly and let us on through."

The red light turned blue. "Taking her in for a landing, Boss," Orbot said, steering the ship towards the large castle in the distance.

Lien-Da seemed confused as she saw the castle in the distance. "Wait, how is it so dark here? It was day just moments ago. And what's with all those red clouds?"

"Oh, not to worry. This place is simply haunted, that's all," Orbot explained.

"'Haunted'?"

"Yah. Y'know, ghosts and stuff?" Cubot said. He pointed to some pale-blue lights floating around the castle. "See that? This place's full of 'em. Real spooky."

"Why would you want a base in a place like this?"

"Because it's defensible," Eggman said. "It's already in a difficult position to attack, and the ghosts only help in keeping pests out." Eggman suddenly grinned, unnerving Lien-Da. "You're not afraid of a few ghosts now, are you?"

Lien-Da swung her leg, slamming her boot into the wall directly beside the Doctor's head. "Would you like to join them?"

Eggman groaned. "I see you don't have a sense of humour." As Lien-Da withdrew her boot, Eggman stood. "Anyway, the ghosts aren't anything to worry about. In fact, with the right machines, they can even be weaponised. So a few tormented souls get lost forever in limbo, oh well. The results are well worth it."

"We're landing now," Orbot said, and the ship landed on one of the castle's towers.

"Well then, shall we?"

"After you," Dimitri said.

"You two stay here, and keep the engines going," Eggman told Orbot and Cubot, and then he left with his echidna escorts. His robots gathered around the ship, and he told them to stand down and get back to their posts.

Leading Dimitri and Lien-Da through the castle, Eggman soon reached a small, square room with seemingly nothing inside of it. Nothing, that is, save for a white, glowing orb in the centre. "Hit that switch, and the Chaos Emerald will be revealed," he told them.

"You do it," Lien-Da said, shoving Eggman forwards. Dimitri simply nodded to the Doctor, who sighed and shook his head.

"Honestly, you'd think there was no honour among thieves." Eggman approached the switch, laughing. "And you'd be right." He hit the switch, and the world began to twist and distort around the two echidnas.

"W-What's happening?!" Lien-Da shouted, looking around in a panic. When the world finally returned to normal, the two found themselves in a completely different room, this one far larger and much more open. "How did we get here?"

"Fascinating," Dimitri said, looking around with intrigue. "Some form of occult magic? Or is there a scientific component behind it?"

"GYA-HAHAHAHAH!" The ceiling opened, and a large robot crashed down into the room, towering over the two echidnas. "You thought you had me beat?! You let me lead you right to my base, surrounded by my robots, and you were even foolish enough to come here without bringing an army of Gizoids!" Eggman aimed the large mace attached to the robot's right arm at Dimitri and Lien-Da. "That's some confidence you have, but it'll mean nothing after I've crushed you with my Egg Breaker!"

Eggman fired the mace. Dimitri used his Chaos Control to warp himself and Lien-Da out of harm's way. "The nerve of this guy!" Lien-Da spat. "Imperator, let me handle this."

"The way that you handled Kragok?"

Lien-Da sputtered, freezing on the spot as Dimitri turned, fixing her with an icy stare. "W-What're you-"

"Before you try to convince me that I'm wrong, granddaughter, I will remind you that the penalty for treason is death by public execution. I looked the other way when you and your brother killed my son, because I saw the potential you both had. However, Kragok in particular caught my eye, and I had high hopes for the boy. He was the type of soldier you could only ever hope to be, even if he still had much to learn."

"HEY! Stop ignoring me!" Eggman fired his mace at the two, and Dimitri created a barrier to deflect it.

Lien-Da gulped. "How did you…"

"You think I don't know a conspiring mind when I see one? Plus, your bloodlust couldn't have been more obvious. I'll give you until I'm finished with this battle to think over your defence. Until then, just stay out of my way."

"GRRRR! I'll show you not to treat me like a joke!" A switch came up out of the floor, and Eggman smashed it with his robot's hand. The room flashed, glowing symbols flying all around. Dimitri found the entire room spinning, and before he knew it, he and Lien-Da were upside-down!

Dimitri looked around, confirming that he was now suspended on the ceiling, with Eggman below them, still on the floor. Eggman fired his mace up at the echidna, who dodged to the left. "Hmmm, moving like this is more difficult than I would have thought." The robot held up a giant SMG and fired at Dimitri, forcing him to run. "Still, it's simple enough to figure out. Now, how to get things back to normal?"

Eggman aimed the left arm of the robot at Dimitri and began spraying fire. He laughed as Dimitri became engulfed in the flames… only to gasp in shock as Dimitri swung his staff to fan the flames away, completely unscathed. His body – as well as the two pieces of armour that he wore – were glowing green, and the four Chaos Emeralds he had – silver, cyan, purple and red – hovered behind him.

"Orbot! Release the ghosts! Cubot, send in reinforcements!"

"Ghosts, deployed!"

"More robots on the way!"

Panels in the floor opened, revealing vents that allowed the wandering spirits of the castle into the room. As they floated up towards the echidnas, Egg Pawns began entering the room from panels opening in the ceiling. They aimed up and fired on Dimitri and Lien-Da.

Lien-Da scrambled to avoid being shot whilst also lashing at the ghosts moving towards her. She stumbled as she moved, still not used to being upside down. Dimitri, on the other hand, had figured out how to control his movements, and had no problem dispatching the ghosts and avoiding the shots from below. When he was finished with the spirits, he swung his staff in an arc overhead, sending out a signal that stunned the robots momentarily, and then fired Chaos Spears to destroy them all.

"H-How did you do that?! Some sort of EMP?!"

"Hmmm, I was not able to stop them entirely," Dimitri mused, floating down towards the floor and gradually righting himself. "I suppose that is the extent two pieces of Enerjak's armour can do. Still, it's more than enough. And now I have my proper perspective back. All of your tricks are useless against me."

"I'm not through yet! Super-Anti-Matter Cannon is fully charged! Say your prayers, Nocturnus!" The Egg Breaker's chest opened, revealing a cannon inside. The robot glowed yellow and energy gathered within the muzzle. "FIRE!"

Dimitri braced himself as a large beam fired his way. He created a barrier and deflected the attack, but it was stronger than he had anticipated, and felt himself being pushed back as he focussed all of his might into defending. "I see! You're using the Chaos Emerald to power your weapon!"

"Too late to realise that now! Take this!" Eggman fired missiles towards Dimitri, who was still busy trying to deflect the Super-Anti-Matter Cannon's attack. "It's my win!"

Lien-Da landed on the ground beside Dimitri, and grabbed one of the Chaos Emeralds floating behind him. "CHAOS SPEAR!" She fired several Chaos Spears to intercept the missiles, exploding them before they could reach the duo, and then handed the Chaos Emerald back to Dimitri.

"I'll admit, I'm impressed. Fine work buying me the time I needed." Dimitri's body and the tip of his staff glowed red. "CHAOS… BLAST!" A huge beam of Chaos Energy erupted from his staff, pushing back against the Super-Anti-Matter Cannon's.

"A Chaos Blast… as a concentrated beam of energy?! I never even considered such a thing!" The two beams pushed against each other, battling for dominance. "It doesn't matter! I'll just increase the power, and then-" Dimitri thrust his free hand forwards, sending a shockwave that hit the Egg Breaker, shutting down its systems. "W-What?! No! Reboot! REBOOT!"

Seeing Dimitri's Chaos Blast winning the battle and roaring towards him, Eggman pulled the emergency lever beneath his seat.

As the Egg Breaker exploded, something shot out of the back of it. It was Eggman, strapped into his chair. Dimitri watched as the scientist scrambled to undo his bindings and made for an open passageway. He chased Eggman, but a wall closed, blocking off pursuit.

"Allow me," Lien-Da said, overclocking and delivering a kick that shattered the wall, only to reveal another right behind it. She kicked the second wall down, only to find a dead end, with three false walls branching off in different directions.

"It seems we'll be wasting out times trying to pursue him," Dimitri said. "Not that it matters. When I have Enerjak's full power, he'll be no threat." Dimitri approached the Egg Breaker's wreckage, where he searched for the Chaos Emerald. He eventually found it, holding the yellow jewel up triumphantly. "Now then, Procurator Da. It's time for you to offer up your defence. Let's hear it."

"… Imperator," Lien-Da began, kneeling, "With all due respect, I was only doing what any in my position would do. The rule of the Nocturnus is the strong command, and the weak perish. Kragok and I both sought the position of Imperator, and we both knew it. It was always a competition between us, one that I won by using his own short-sightedness against him."

"Which also cost me one of my valuable Dark Legion soldiers."

"Imperator… Grandfather, with Enerjak's power, the Dark Legion will be redundant. I intend to prove to you that I am all that you need. I am not shackled by weakness like my father was. Give me a chance to prove my worthiness, and my loyalty to you, and you'll see that my brother's death was nothing more than a steppingstone in the growth of your eventual successor."

Dimitri studied Lien-Da for a while, considering her words. It was then that they heard the sounds of fighting outside, moving closer towards them. Dimitri approached a window to see what was happening. "It appears that Sonic and his friends are here." He grinned, turning back to Lien-Da. "Very well. I will give you your chance to prove yourself to me."

Lien-Da nodded, though regarded him with a somewhat-confused stared. "What would you have me do?"

"Isn't it obvious? Kill them." Dimitri glanced out of the window. "Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shade and Julie-Su, and two more hedgehogs. There are seven in all. Kill them all, and then return to my side with proof of your deed."

Lien-Da blinked. "Y-You want me to… kill all of them? At once?"

"Is there a problem? If you plan to be my successor, then surely you can do this." Dimitri walked over to Lien-Da, who rose to her feet. "You killed my grandson, who I had such high hopes for. You can make it up to me now, by killing our enemies in one go. If you succeed, then I will recognise you and make you Imperator after I become Enerjak."

"But on my own? That's a little-"

"You may use this." Dimitri handed the yellow Chaos Emerald to Lien-Da. "Do not disappoint me."

The door behind Dimitri was bust open, and the seven heroes ran into the room, stopping when they saw the two echidnas beside the wrecked Eggman mech. "Are we too late?" Amy asked.

"Not yet," Shadow said, stepping forwards. "The one we want is right here. We can end this now."

"What was it you said before? That you would sooner die than retreat?" Dimitri saw how Lien-Da clutched the Chaos Emerald. "Now's your chance to prove it. Should you fail, you know what you must do."

Lien-Da stared down at the Chaos Emerald in her hands, sweating. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and responded, "Of course, sir."

"You're not getting away!" Shadow rushed Dimitri, but was intercepted by Lien-Da, who blocked his kick and countered with her own, pushing him back.

"Chaos Control!" Dimitri used the opening to warp away, leaving Lien-Da alone with their foes.

"You're gonna fight us on your own?" Sonic asked. "Don't you think that's a bit much, even for you?"

Julie-Su looked around the room, nervous. "This is likely a trap. I'm sure that Kragok is nearby, waiting to ambush us."

Lien-Da bit her lip, glaring at her sister. "You think I can't do this on my own?" Grinning, she flicked her dreadlock and entered a combative stance. "Stupid, worthless sister! You don't have to worry about our brother anymore, because I killed him!" Everybody gasped, taken aback by the sudden confession. Everybody but Shadow, who simply clenched his fists in preparation for a fight.

"You what?!" Knuckles shouted. "But he's your family!"

Julie-Su held a hand over her chest, staring at Lien-Da in disbelief. "No, not even you would be that cruel!"

Lien-Da laughed. "It was back in Robotropolis. It was your friends who gave me the opening to do so! So thanks, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles! If it wasn't for you, I never would have been able to do it! You left him weakened, and left me with an opening to finish him off!"

Sonic gritted his teeth, taking a step towards Lien-Da. Shade grabbed his arm to stop him. "She's trying to bait you," she told him. "She knows she can't take us all on normally, so she's trying to rile us up so we lose our guards."

"Even if you say so, I can't just ignore something like that," Sonic said, keeping his eyes fixed on Lien-Da.

"Then that means… we're responsible for it?" Tails asked, stepping back, tears welling in his eyes. "I helped you… W-What did I do?! Julie-Su, I'm sorry! I-"

"Tails, no!" Amy shouted. "It's not your fault! You were just doing what you had to. She's the one who took advantage of that to do something so horrible!"

"Are you sure about that?" Lien-Da asked. "If they had just taken the few seconds to check if I was truly defeated, they would've seen I was faking it and could've stopped me."

Tails covered his ears and cried out. Amy grabbed her hammer and charged at Lien-Da, baring her fangs. "Why don't you just SHUT UP?!"

"Amy, wait!" Shade shouted, but it was too late.

Lien-Da held out her Chaos Emerald. "CHAOS… SPEAR!"

Several spears flew at Amy, whose guard was totally open. She skidded to a halt, raising her hammer to shield herself, but she was too slow. She closed her eyes as the spears hit… but felt nothing. As she opened her eyes, she found Shadow embracing her, using his body to shield her from the attack. "S-Shadow!"

Shadow winced as he let go and pushed her back. She stumbled a bit before being caught by Sonic. "… Heh. Is that the best that you can do?" Shadow asked, turning to face Lien-Da. He grunted as he moved, but still kept a smile on his face. "Pathetic. I barely even felt a thing."

Lien-Da summoned more Chaos Spears around herself. "Oh don't worry, those were just strong enough for her. I have far more respect for you, Shadow, so I'll give you all my strength!" Lien-Da channelled more energy from the Chaos Emerald, a yellow aura surrounding her body. "CHAOS… LANCE!"

The spears flew towards Shadow, who took out his Chaos Emerald and channelled its energy into an armour that enveloped his body. As the barrage of spears hit, he held his ground and took them head-on. "Sonic, now!"

Whilst Lien-Da focussed on Shadow, Sonic took the chance to run right to her, reaching her before she could even react. He threw a kick that knocked her to the ground, and then charged a spindash. Lien-Da used Chaos Control to warp away before Sonic's next attack could hit, but when she reappeared, she found Knuckles running her way. She readied some Chaos Spears… but not for him.

"You sure you wanna leave her open right now?!" Lien-Da fired her Chaos Spears at Julie-Su, who gasped as she saw them coming her way. She was still reeling from the shock of the news, and had no time to react. Thankfully, Tails was able to grab her and move her out of harm's way before the attack could reach.

"Nice work!" Knuckles shouted, and resumed his attack on Lien-Da. He threw a punch, which she grabbed, and then another. She grabbed that, too, leaving both of them with no hands free. Not a problem for Knuckles, who simply reared back his head and then drove it forwards, headbutting his opponent.

"GAH!" Lien-Da took several steps back, clutching her head. She tasted metal and realised that her nose was bleeding. As she refocussed her vision, Sonic, Shade, Amy and Shadow neared, joining Knuckles in driving her into a corner.

"You just can't fight others directly, can you?!" Knuckles shouted. "You always have to use underhanded tricks like that! Don't you have any shame?!"

"Hmph. I fought Shade directly, did I not? And then she had that fox boy and the annoying girl interrupt our fight so she could flee. So don't talk to me about 'shame'!"

"Even so," Shade said, "Stabbing your own brother in the back, using hostages, and attacking those with their guards down. You think those tactics make you a strong soldier? You're just a coward, and you mock what it means to be Procurator!"

"You're gonna pay for everything you've done to Julie-Su!" Amy cried, clutching her hammer. "What kind of big sister are you?!"

"All of you just SHUT. UP!" Lien-Da held the Chaos Emerald to her chest, panting. "CHAOS RESTORE!" Chaos Energy flooded into her body, reinvigorating her and clearing her head of the migraine that Knuckles had caused. Her bleeding stopped and she wiped the leftover blood from her lips. "I do what it takes to get ahead! That's how the world works! Friendship?! Trust?! None of that stuff is real! In the end, stepping on others to further yourself is the only sure-fire way to succeed! That's why I killed them! Father, Kragok, and Mari-Su! All of them were in my way, so I had to kill them!"

"Father and Mother," Julie-Su gasped, dropping to her knees. "… So… it really was you… You and Brother both…"

"I'd even kill Dimitri if he became an obstacle! I'll leave my mark on history! I was destined to do so, but others just keep holding me back! Chosen from birth to be a Dark Legion soldier, the granddaughter of the man who'll claim Enerjak's power!" Lien-Da clutched the Chaos Emerald in her hand, and more energy flooded into her body. "I'll even drag myself through Hell if that's what it takes!"

"We must stop her!" Shade shouted, charging. Sonic and Knuckles joined her, only for all three of them to be knocked back by a shockwave.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Lien-Da warped behind Shade, floating in the air, and delivered a kick so fast that Shade had no time to dodge or guard against it. Shade was knocked onto her back, and Lien-Da threw a Chaos Spear down. Shadow caught it just as it was inches away from Shade's throat, and tossed it aside.

"She's fast!" Sonic noted, jumping up to punch Lien-Da. As he swung his fist, she parried, and then drove her knee up into his stomach. "OOF!" Sonic tried to recover, but found himself being thrown to the ground.

"How dare you?!" Amy jumped, raising her hammer. She brought it down, only for Lien-Da to suddenly warp away using Chaos Control. "Huh?!" Amy was suddenly struck from behind, and fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

"How is she doing this?!" Knuckles asked, helping Shade to her feet. "It's almost like she's gone Super, but with just one Chaos Emerald?"

"You're not far off," Shade said. "She's drawing in the Chaos Emerald's power, the same way you would to use Chaos Restore, and using the excess energy to power her cybernetics."

"How do we stop it?"

"Even if her cybernetics give her some resistance, it doesn't change the fact that absorbing that much Chaos Energy is dangerous." Shade noticed a patch of Lien-Da's fur beginning to turn yellow. "Although it's like going Super, it's not the same thing. Her body won't be able to handle the strain, and she'll be forced to stop. If she doesn't…"

"This is how far I'm willing to go!" Lien-Da shouted, landing before Shade and Knuckles. "This is how I'll advance! Even if I shave a few years off my life, it's better than losing! It's better than living with the shame of defeat hanging forever over my head!"

Shadow attempted to attack Lien-Da from behind, but she turned and caught his leg, throwing him aside. Knuckles attempted to punch Lien-Da while she was distracted, and Shade slashed with her leech blades. Whilst she was able to grab the punch, she failed to evade the leech blades and cried out as they cut along her hip. "CHAOS CONTROL!" Lien-Da warped back some, giving Sonic and Shadow a chance to climb to their feet. She looked down at the injury she had sustained and growled. "CHAOS…"

"Don't!" Shade shouted.

"RESTORE!" Energy flooded into the wound from the Chaos Emerald, erasing it as if she had never sustained the injury in the first place. As it did, Lien-Da winced, and more of her fur turned yellow. "G-GAAAAAAH!"

"Stop it! If you keep doing this, it won't be just a 'few years'! Your body will burn!"

"I can do this! I have to!" With the injury now gone, Lien-Da resumed her attack, running at the four with Chaos Spears surrounding her body. "I will never admit defeat! I'm stronger than you or Kragok! I'm the one destined to be Imperator!"

A shot passed in front of Lien-Da, forcing her to stop. She looked over at Julie-Su, who glared at her sister through teary eyes. "Is that really all that matters to you?! Just, power, and being the best?! What is it all for?! What do you get out of a life like that?!"

"I won't end up like you! I'll be remembered as something greater than some traitorous whelp who leans on others!"

"You'll only be remembered as someone who stabbed everyone she knew in the back! You'll die alone, never loved by anyone but yourself! Is that what you want?!"

"Why would I want people to love me?! I want them to fear me! To be feared, instead of being afraid!"

"And you didn't… feel even the slightest bit of love for Father or Kragok? Nothing at all?"

"…" Lien-Da turned and walked towards her sister. "If you miss them so much, I'll send you to meet them."

"Oh no you don't!" Knuckles shouted. He and Sonic rushed Lien-Da, who unleashed her Chaos Spears at them. The two weaved between the barrage as they neared her, and Sonic drove into Lien-Da with his spindash, knocking her onto her back.

"Ch-Chaos… RESTORE!" Energy washed over Lien-Da, and she jumped onto her feet, panting and clutching her stomach. She then crossed her arms and began glowing red. "CHAOS… BLAST!"

Sonic grabbed Amy and ran, whilst Shadow used his Chaos Control to warp himself, Shade and Knuckles out of the room. As Sonic ran from the wave of energy chasing him, Tails threw out a small bead that flew past. As it hit the floor, it created a shield that somewhat blocked the attack, giving Sonic enough time carry Amy to safety.

"Uhhhh… What happened?" Amy asked as she opened her eyes. It took a few seconds for the fog in her mind to clear, and for her to realise that she was being carried by Sonic, at which point she blushed. "S-Sonic! Is this a date?"

"If this is your idea of a date," Sonic said, lowering Amy to the ground. "How's your head?"

Amy reached a hand behind her head, wincing. "Still hurts. Would you kiss it bett-"

"Sounds like you're fine, but you should sit the rest of this out."

Amy pouted as Sonic left to re-join the battle, leaving her with Tails and Julie-Su. "Could've at least let me finish!" Amy turned to Julie-Su, who she saw was shivering and crying. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm…" Julie-Su sighed, shaking her head. "No, I'm not…"

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Just… stay with me. You're in no shape to fight, and I don't wanna lose anyone else…"

Amy nodded, and remained quiet as she watched the battle inside with Tails and Julie-Su.

Shadow warped back into the room, aiming his Shadow Rifle at Lien-Da. "If she's using this much Chaos Energy, then she won't be using her ACF." He fired, and Lien-Da dodged the shot, countering with a volley of Chaos Spears. As she fired them, Shade and Knuckles dropped in from above, the former bringing her leech blades down across Lien-Da's back, and the latter knocking her to the ground with one solid punch.

Lien-Da coughed blood as she pushed herself up, panting harder the longer the fight continued on. "This… There're too many of them…" She gasped as she saw Shadow stepping closer, pointing his rifle at her. Her eyes trembled, and she held out her Chaos Emerald. "I can't die! Not yet! Chaos- NNGH!"

"Wait!" Sonic shouted, grabbing Shadow's arm. "You don't have to kill her, right?"

"That's up to her," Shadow said.

"But I mean, look at her! She's beat! You don't have to go that far!"

"Who says I'm beat?!" Lien-Da climbed to her feet, heaving, and glaring daggers at the hedgehogs. "Don't act like you've already won! And don't you dare humiliate me by showing me mercy! If you won't kill me, then I'll kill you!" Shadow fired a shot, striking Lien-Da's shoulder. The shot pierced her flesh, leaving her clutching the wound with an agonised scream.

"Shadow!"

"She'll live, if she surrenders. That's the only second chance I'm giving her."

"Just give up already," Shade said, approaching Lien-Da from behind. "You know you'll never win. Don't throw your life away for nothing."

Lien-Da gritted her teeth. "My life? 'Nothing'?! My only purpose is to become Imperator! If I lose now, there will be nothing to throw away!" Lien-Da held the Chaos Emerald to her chest. "Chaos… Restor- GAH!"

Lien-Da dropped the Chaos Emerald, coughing relentlessly as she fell to her knees. "It's… too much…" She saw her own red-furred hands stretched out before her. She blinked, and when her eyes reopened, her hands were yellow. "What's… happening?" A shock passed through Lien-Da's body, and she clutched her stomach. "This… pain… It's too much! M-Make it stop!"

"What's going on?" Knuckles asked, his body frozen as he felt his stomach churning. "And what's this feeling? It's like I'm in pain just looking at her!"

"She's absorbed too much Chaos Energy into her body," Shade explained with a grimace. "That's the danger of using Chaos Restore. Under normal circumstances, she'd already be dead by now. Her cybernetics are fighting to control it, but it's a losing battle. There's no telling what will happen now… Still, I never expected something like this. It's almost like the Chaos Energy is fusing with her. Becoming a part of her somehow."

Lien-Da saw the Chaos Emerald laying just inches away. Her breathing had grown out-of-control, and her vision was becoming cloudy.

"Should you fail, you know what you must do." Dimitri's words rang through her mind.

'I know… what to do…' Lien-Da took in a deep breath, and lunged for the Chaos Emerald. Before anyone could do anything, she mustered all of her strength for one final command. "Chaos… C-Control!"

A flash of light shone from the Emerald, and when it was gone, Lien-Da was laying on the floor, sprawled out and writhing in pain. Shadow approached and checked her hand, but the Chaos Emerald was gone.

"What was that?" Amy asked as she and Julie-Su ran into the room. "What did she just do?"

"She used the last of her strength to use Chaos Control… and sent the Chaos Emerald to Dimitri."

"Why would she do that, but not teleport herself, too?"

"Either she didn't have the strength to… or she would rather die here." Shade shook her head. "She failed in her mission to kill us. Returning would be the same as running away. She'd sooner 'die with honour' than be branded a coward."

"That's horrible…"

"That's how she was raised," Julie-Su said. "How we were raised. That's what Grandfather taught us from a young age. She and Kragok would often scold me for not going the distance. For retreating with my life when I was discovered by you guys… To think she would actually go this far…"

"GAAAAAAAAH!" Lien-Da clawed at her own chest, as if trying to tear it open. "NGH-YAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Julie-Su rushed to Lien-Da's side, holding her hands to make her stop. She winced at how hard Lien-Da gripped her, but didn't let go. Lien-Da was unconscious, yet still convulsing and crying out in agony. "She's going to die, isn't she?"

Shade knelt beside Julie-Su, offering her a sympathetic gaze. "I'm sorry."

"There has to be something we can do!" Julie-Su shouted, holding her sister. She turned to the others, tears running down the sides of her face. "Please! I know that she's done awful things! There's no way I can ever forgive her for killing Mother and Father, and she even killed our brother, but… I can't just let her die like this! She's the only family I have left!"

"If I may make a suggestion," Finitevus began, "I believe that the Chaos Syphon may be able to save her. Or to more precise, it may be the only thing that can save her at this point. If we can syphon out the excess Chaos Energy before it's too late, then-"

"Please!" Julie-Su pleaded. "Please save her! Save my sister!" Julie-Su felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to find Sonic standing next to her. He leaned down and gathered Lien-Da in his arms. Tails bound her hands together with a coil of rope, keeping her from flailing her arms and clawing at whatever she could reach.

"I'll get her there quick," Sonic reported, "So get the Chaos Syphon ready."

"I'm already on it."

"I'll clear the way," Shadow said, readying his Shadow Rifle.

Sonic nodded, and the two were off, boosting through Cryptic Castle as Shadow fired at the ghosts and robots in their path. Julie-Su watched as the blue and orange trails evaporated before her, wiping the tears from her eyes.