Lt. Slash paced around the Anubis. He was worried that something was not as it seemed. At this moment his trail of thought was cut off by Mighty crawling through the hole still unfixed.

"Where am I?" the armadillo said. Lt. Slash smiled. He decided to take advantage of the amnesia.

"You are a prisoner of the Robotnik Empire. You surrendered to us, remember?" Lt. Slash lied. Mighty thought for a moment. Dante exhaled in a Smokey sigh as he put his cigarette into a nearby ashtray. He noticed that in his state of amnesia, Mighty was quite open to suggestion. Dante raised an eyebrow.

"You ok there?" Dante asked. Mighty nodded. It was all coming back to him now. But why had he forgotten it before?

Dante wondered to himself what to do next. The Master Emerald was the property of the Robotnik Empire. Espio the Chameleon had been captured, and was soon to be joined by a friend of his, Mighty the Armadillo. What was left? Ah, yes. Team Dark. That would be a fine challenge. He could finally be rid of the traitors for good.

"Sir." the piloting Eggrobo broke his train of thought. "The Death Utopia is coming up. They've cleared us to dock with them."

"Good. Take us in. Tell the good doctor that Lt. Slash has a little gift for him."

"Aye sir."

"Okay, are we ready?"

"Okay, hack's in place. Satellites are ready. We're go for broadcast."

"Okay Coconuts, You're on!" Suddenly, every T.V on Mobius is tuned into channel 01. It shows a large ship with a giant robot holding the Master Emerald. Behind it are Espio the Chameleon and Mighty the Armadillo, marching in front of a Badnik escorting them. Some words appear on screen.

CHALK UP ANOTHER VICTORY TO THE ROBOTNIK EMPIRE.

The camera cuts to Coconuts, who is wearing a clip-on tie and is holding a stack of papers.

"Good Evening ladies and gents, This is your host, Coconuts the monkey Over live streaming satellite here to give you the Eggman Empire's report on the conquest of the planet Mobius. Imperial Staff, Soldiers, and Badniks alike took the time to celebrate a string of victories in the united front to take over Mobius." The camera cuts to a picture of Dante and the Master Emerald.

"Young captain Dante Sellis and his crew successfully captured Launch Base Zone, and procured the legendary and powerful Master Emerald, as well as capturing the Team Chaotix member, Espio the Chameleon." The camera then produces an image of Count Sin and his sword.

"Most Astounding of all included the Benevolent Count Sin's mastery of hand-to-hand combat in Chemical Plant Zone, a victory which netted us several production factories. He later moved on to take over Oil Ocean as well, obtaining much needed fuel reserves for our cause." The camera focuses back on the first picture.

"These initial victories lead to the production of the Death Utopia ship, as well as another victory in which it is rumored that Mighty the Armadillo was captured. With so many victories to speak of, we can only ask Who's Next? Will we shed some light on Team Dark? Deadhead Team Rose? Or even take a speedbump to team Sonic? The possibilities are limitless. You have no chance to win, so you may as well surrender in the name of the Eggman Empire.

This has been Coconuts the Monkey, saying Goodnight, and good news..."

"CUT! That was great! Though your witty puns at the end could use some work," said the Crabmeat Badnik.

"Hey, My humor chip hasn't been upgraded for years. Give me a break," Coconuts complained.

Coconuts and Crabmeat coward before their creator. Robotnik's face turned red, his muscles tightened, and his expression of anger was unimaginable.

"You idiots! Although our victories were great, did you have to announce it to the whole planet!" screamed Robotnik. Suddenly, his expression changed.

"Though, I must say, it sure showed those editorials what for," he said, remembering the newspaper article that started all of this.

"You two, go see if Dante needs anything," the doctor said. The two Badniks nodded and ran off.

After handing over Mighty (who gave a confused yelp as his prison doors closed) Lt.Slash made his way to the Anubis but found it deserted, all the crew were busy doing this and that on the Egg Utopia and so Lt. Slash thought it would cause no harm if he were to go on ahead and plan the next mission. He entered the main room for piloting the aircraft and opened up some special files for planning. Suddenly an access denied sign came up and after a few seconds of puzzling the code was cracked and a strange file came up that Slash didn't understand. He played about and then in a huge booming voice that could be heard through most of the Egg Utopia the Anubis called,

"WARNING, WARNING, EMERGANCY FLIGHT PATH STARTS IN 5…4…3…2…1… LIFT OFF." Before Lt. Slash could escape the Anubis took off setting path towards the lava reef zone where a secret hide out had been made incase anything had gone wrong. Lt. Slash took out his speaker and called to Dante.

"Get me the HELL off this flying death trap, you hear me?"

Dante still continued to smoke his cigarette, when Count Sin's voice came over the radio.

"Commander Dante, can you hear me?" Dante picked up his radio.

"I'm here. What is it?" he asked. Suddenly, he witnessed his ship rise into the air…without him!

"I'll be back in a minute!" Dante yelled. He dropped the radio and picked up a megaphone.

"Lt. Slash! Press the Return key!" he yelled.

Lt. Slash looked for the return key, but couldn't find it. So, in a stupid fashion, he hit all the buttons and the ship tried to fire a bomb. But the safety lever was closed and so the hatch wouldn't open. It was going to explode when Lt. Slash cut a bit off the bomb took out the explosive and chucked it out the ship. As it exploded it set the vessel firing into space and it crash-landed in the Green Hill Zone. Lt. Slash was knocked out and was taken in by an unknown figure.

"This is for Mighty," the figure said.

"What an idiot." Blaze growled. "Bridge crew, check in!"
"Science!"
"Nav!"
"Astronav!"
"Tactics." said Blaze, happy that everybody had survived.

"Now, how the hell is the ship... Well well, it's in one piece! We could fly this thing back again, and as a matter of fact… Navigation, set course for that miniature Death Egg!"
"Aye."
"Don't answer me with aye; answer me with a yes or something like that. Aye is for the Cap'n only."
"Aye, I mean, yes sir. Course laid in."
"Maximum Warp - Engage."
The bridge crew stared at Blaze. "Take a freaking joke, will you? Maximum speed, and let's get going."
"Umm... Slash has gone missing."
"WHAT? Science, get a transporter beam lock on Slash's position."
"Got it."
"Right, bring him aboard into station 1."
"Roger Roger."
"Oh, shut up."
"We've got him sir."
"Good. Get medics down there."
"Yes sir."

Count Sin calmly set the microphone down, then walked over to the control panel. He was currently aboard one of many Death Utopias.

"E-1000's, set our course for the space colony ARK. G.U.N has taken it over, and it will serve as Robotnik's new base. After all, it's only fair he takes control of his grandfather's creation," ordered Count Sin. Slowly, the Utopia floated up towards the sky, causing some wind.

Lt. Slash, who had just recovered from his crash, remembered several things about Lava Reef. His rock hard skull had meant he had barely been knocked out and no cases of Amnesia. He remembered someone taking him in to be looked at in a secret area where there were lots of other low ranking members of Mobius. When no one was looking he took a small space pod from the Anubis and fired himself back to Lava Reef and recovered the small cavern that he had been taken but they had all moved. He pondered for a while then realized they must have moved for safety. He followed occasional footprints to a pool of lava and saw a strange looking rock next to it. Pressing against it he opened a hidden passage. He was greeted by a grand hall, and by Ray the Squirrel. Ray let him in, gave him a bed and some food. The Lieutenant almost felt guilty when he smacked the Squirrel's head with the back of his sword. Almost. He ran back into the hall, carrying Ray on his back, but when the others viewed this they ran at him with knives and hammers. He tried to take out a few to take back with him but they were well trained. He escaped with only a few scrapes and a heavily bleeding leg. He made it back to his pod, though there wasn't enough room for both of them. He looked around where he had originally been found by Ray and sure enough there was a small ship that could hold 5-6 people hidden behind a wall for emergency escapes. As he blasted into space he tried to tie Ray up, but ray awoke and smacked Lt. Slash in the face with his tail. Soon a huge fight had brewed and neither of them were budging an inch.

"Err, head base. Head base, I have a major crisis here requesting back up onto the ship flying towards you, The..." Lt. Slash looked for the name of the ship..."the Super Polly Waggle." shudders I have a Squirrel by the name of Ray here you might be interested in."

Sin continued to fly up towards space. Suddenly, his radio came on.

"Hey, whoever's in control of that Egg Utopia! This is Chief Tactics Officer Blaze of the Anubis, requesting permission to land," Blaze cringed as a loud ClANK sounded from the other end of the ship. "And if permission is granted, I request that you slow your ascent velocity..." ClANK "Because the Anubis is falling apart!" Blaze said on the other line. Sin chuckled. The day was not even over and already we were losing a ship.

"Officer Blaze, permission is granted to land. We will slow our velocity," responded Count Sin. He turned around to his robots.

"Slow down our speed so our friend can land," ordered Count Sin. The Utopia suddenly felt like it stopped, but it was just floating slower. Slow enough for the ship to land on it. Some time later, Count Sin walked into the docking bay of his Utopia, followed by some E-1000's, glancing at the Anubis and all it's damage.

"With just his crew, it will take awhile to repair. E-1000's, start work on It." ordered Count Sin. They quickly sped over to the broken-down ship. Count Sin, after searching inside it, finally found Dante and Blaze.

"My... SHIP!" Dante was floored at the shape of the Anubis. Armored panels were damaged nearly beyond repair, the engines were failing, and one of the lifeboats was missing. Repairing his ship would take a long time. It would also leave him and his crew stuck aboard the Death Utopia for a while, unable to travel to other zones to conquer and pillage. Still, his ship was there and slowly landing instead of lying dead in the Lava Reef Zone.

"Blaze, thank you for getting the ship back. Next to a crew to man it, it's one of my most valuable assets." Dante said. Blaze nodded, and then spotted Sin next to them.

"I'm glad you could drop in, commanders. It seems like it's been forever since our last meeting on the Super Egg Carrier. Now tell me. What happened to this ship that caused so much damage?" asked Count Sin.

"One of the crew members...didn't input some information correctly and activated one of the older auto pilot protocols. The ship began flying towards the Lava Reef," explained the Devil.

"I understand, though Robotnik might not. All that aside, as long as you're aboard, you can help me with the next assignment," said Count Sin.

"And what would that be?" Dante asked. Sin paused for a moment.

"Conquering Space Colony ARK." The bear said this with great emphasis. It was important, after all. Blaze, being the thinker, brainstormed an attack on the colony.

"Hmm... hmm... hmm…hmm... I'd get another three Death Utopias up there if I were you. That thing is bristling with cannons. There's a blind entry point on the top, no one can see you go in, including the automated cannons," he explained.

"Excellent Blaze. You're a good tactician for a teenager," Sin complimented. Blaze smirked.

"Right. Contact Dr. Robotnik and ask him to send in three more Death Utopia Units," said Count Sin. He pressed a button on a keyboard and ARK came up. Words and numbers appeared.

"Dante and Blaze. While the Death Utopia is a powerful shuttle, it's too slow. The G.U.N machines aboard the ARK will have locked onto us before we even barely exit the atmosphere. I will leave in a smaller plane and attack them myself. Send reinforcements as soon as I land," said Count Sin as he walked off.

"Who does he think he's the boss of? We're all commanders here," Blaze complained.

"He's obviously more experienced in war than most. Besides, it's a perfect strategy," Dante experienced,

"Right. I'll put together three squads." Blaze walked off.

"Hmm... For one team on an assault, one for a diversion, and a third to sneak on and do some damage should work… nah, forget it. I'll just send in one as a diversion and the other two on assault." He thought. He walked over to some E-1000s that weren't being used and got their attention.

"Okay, twenty of you freaks, over here now. You guys are on diversion so that Count Sin can get in. Try and stay alive long enough for both assault teams to get in. Arm yourselves with anything that's big, that should create a distraction. Eighty of you, here now, in two groups of forty. You guys are on assault, so take the usual weapons."
Blaze walked away, saying over his shoulder,

"Stay there for a minute."

Count Sin was already seated in a small plane known as the Egg fighter. It was basically an assault plane version of Robotnik's hover pod he always rides in. Count Sin sent a message to Blaze.

"Remember; do not destroy the space colony. Not only is it a perfect base, but there are some DNA remains of Biolizard I think we can use. As for you and Dante, I'd suggest that you observe this battle from an Earth base. Being onboard one of the Utopias is a big risk for a captain. I would hate to be the only one left," explained Count Sin, before shutting off his communicator. He turned on his fighter and flew through the docking bay and towards the atmosphere.

In spite of the temporary situation regarding his ship, Dante Sellis was in a rather upbeat mood. The bounty hunter Nack the Weasle was now among his ranks, even if he was still down in Lava Reef. Lt. Slash had captured Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. The Orbital Station ARK was now under assault and the United States Colonial Marines had taken an interest in their activities and were looking to form an alliance. Tactical Officer Blaze was busy readying the E-1000 series droids to send backup to Count Sin. And finally, to top it off...

"Y-you wanted to see us, sir?" skittering nervously into the room came the likes of Crabmeat. He was followed by Shellcracker, who in turn was followed closely by Coconuts the monkey.

"...You guys took a rather stupid step today. Broadcasting our victories worldwide." Dante didn't even take his eyes off of the glow of thrusters in the distant void of space.

"Ye-yes sir, but wit--" Crabmeat started

"YOU will talk when I instruct you to!" The devil shouted, finally turning to face the small Badnik. The crab stood rigid, fearing the roar in the young commander's voice. "Thanks to your brash actions, The good Doctor has put you on the expendables list. And that's just great. Because I've had you transferred to be my three special underlings. It's nice to know that on my dropship, there will be a few expendables just fit for tough situations." All three robots gulped nearly simultaneously. Dante turned. He had a nearly impassive look as he began pacing the room. He looked the three robots over.

"I will lay down the rules. One, you do what I say, when I say, and YOU SHALL DO IT Exactly as I Say, with no question." Dante switched directions, walking a long, lazy circle around the three Badniks. "TWO. I WILL accept no less that perfect from my troops. If you mess up, you'll wind up like my two Balkiries. Sure, they were lucky enough to have their memory cores salvaged and were placed into new chassis, but accidents can happen, especially to new, hasty, careless soldiers." He emphasized the last three characteristics with a rigid amount of ice. "THREE, I expect that at all times, My men will be ready, willing, and able to do anything that may be thrown at them. Fun time's over, boys. When you're not fighting, you will be integrating new tactical programs, enhancing your AI, and practicing your newfound prowess. By the time I'm done with you, you'll all be brand new bots whether you like it or not. THIS is your chance to prove yourselves worthy again, but you'll be doing it by MY Rules." Dante stopped. He paused a moment to make himself clear. "AM I UNDERSTOOD?"

"YES SIR!" the three shouted, again in unison.

"Good. Now, return to your maintenance bays. I want you shipshape and ready to go by the time my ship is repaired and the ARK is captured." He waved the three away. "DISMISSED!"