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Sonic and Sash: Tides of Chaos 3
Phantom Forces
Act 4
Chapter 25: Tropical Coast Terror
This chapter has been written by the one and only WritingPoke, author of the currently ongoing Frosted Wings series!
The deafening roars of the waterfalls in the ruins echoed throughout the entire structure as the phantom Zik slowly trudged down the corridor to the crystalline orb that held the real Zik inside it, sitting in the middle of the small shrine-like room. The phantom merely smirked, looking at the meditating real counterpart inside the crystal.
"Hmph, how humorous." The fake Zik spoke, crossing his arms. "Meditating in some sort of flea-brained attempt to try and escape again?"
"That, is what you think." The real Zik responded from within the crystal. "I know I will get out of this, one way or another."
"You really think you will?" The fake Zik spoke.
"It's not a matter of if, you ignorant copy." The real one spoke from within the crystal. "It's a matter of when."
The fake Zik merely smirked before being approached from behind, turning to see who approached him. None other than the giant red Zavok had appeared in the room, though the one in the crystal knew this one was an impostor.
"Ah! Zavok. So nice of you to join your master." Zik spoke. "Now then, what brings you here while I am interrogating this impostor?"
"There's news from Lord Robotnik I am to deliver regarding our... prisoner." Zavok spat while looking at the crystallized Zeti. "He's not to be let escaped under any reasons whatsoever. Any attempts on escape are to be met with immediate termination of the intruders."
"Ah, so business as per the usual of our kind." The fake Zik spoke. "Not an issue. They won't survive getting down here anyways with how far removed we are from the surface."
"Even so, we must exert caution." Zavok spoke. "There's no telling when their allies will arrive to try and free this whelp."
"Whelp?" The Zik inside the crystal said. "I suggest you curb your tongue while you still can. Once I am freed from here, your tongue is getting the whipping first."
"Your idle threats are falling on deaf ears, old man." Zavok growled, before turning to the fake Zik. "The doctor's orders are final; no exceptions."
"I assure you, we will be fine." The fake Zik spoke. Zavok grunted in response and turned, walking out of the ruined room as the fake Zik continued guard...
Outside, the heat was sweltering, high temperatures reaching an upwards of 98 degrees with a humidity of nearly 78%. The rocky cliffs were slightly crumbled with new unnatural rock formations in hexagonal shapes and large round planetoid-like structures slammed into several parts of the ruins, some destroyed from the crash of the unnatural formations. The water seemed to twist and curve in unnatural ways away from the gravity. The rocky purple cliffs were intermittently interrupted by the grey rocky cliffs and crystal sand beaches of Tropical Coast Zone, the palm trees drooping in the heat of the area. And of course, the place was crawling with Badniks, several Blowfish Transporters landing to unload the new troops as the Clucker turrets kept watch from the higher cliffs, their ammo locked and loaded to fire like snipers on any intruders coming their way.
Of course, security would be tight when the three Zeti arrived on the upper ridge, keeping low to keep their cover from being seen as Zeena looked down over the cliff edge at the Badnik forces below.
"Looks to me like they've got a lotta security down there." Zeena whispered. "Nearly several hundred Badniks down there alone, not counting the Clucker snipers across the cliffsides around here..."
"So... whadda we do?" Zomom asked.
"Well... we need to take those Cluckers out first thing." Zeena spoke. "Zomom, you might be powerful enough to destroy the Badniks in the valley, but a well-aimed sniper shot will ruin everything. If we're going to level this place and find our friend, we need to make sure we take as minimal risk as possible."
"So what's the game plan?" Zazz asked.
"Well, let me get to that." Zeena spoke. "I'll - and I can't believe I'm saying this - offer myself as a distraction to draw their attention away from you guys while you act accordingly. Zazz, I need you to take out the Clucker snipers across the cliffs and cover for Zomom so he can take down those Blowfish Transporters. The sooner those are down, the easier it will be on our end to not have to worry about reinforcements."
"Got it." Zazz said.
"Can I do the thing to them?" Zomom said.
"The thing?" Zeena asked.
"You know, the thing!" Zomom said.
"Ooooooooh, that thing." Zeena said. "Well, as long as you don't hurt yourself, go nuts."
"Woo!" Zomom said as he lept over the ridge and started plodding down the rightmost side, out of view of the Cluckers.
Keeping her cool as best she could, Zeena slowly crept down the cliffside towards the lower basin. Her claws dug deep into the rock face, making sure she had a firm hold of the side she was scaling down before slowly reaching a lower ledge, ducking behind one of the out of place palm trees still dotting the terrain. Peeking out slightly, she could still see the Badniks still monitoring their positions, looking for intruders.
Her eyes narrowed a bit. "Alright... all I gotta do is distract them with my charms, and that'll leave time for Zazz and Zomom to do their things..." Taking a deep breath, Zeena would strip out of her sweater and her beanie, unraveling her scarf and wrapping the cloth around her chest region again. Swallowing hard and clearing her mind, she soon embrace the 'lusty' side of her personality as she readied her distraction...
"Ohhhhh boyyyys...~" She spoke in a sultry voice, stretching herself out under in front of the palm tree in full view for any of the Badniks to see. Almost immediately the Egg Pawns would turn in attention to see the female Zeti sprawled out in a seductive pose, her eyes filled with allure, lust, and a hunger...
Several of the Egg Pawns would be mesmerized by the beauty of the Zeti as they stumbled towards her, the Cluckers turning and keeping their turrets locked on Zeena in case she tried to pull anything funny. Zazz, meanwhile, would be sneaking up the cliff face towards the closest Clucker turret, getting ready to launch a rip and tear attack...
...that was, until several icicle spikes slammed down onto the Clucker turrets, destroying them entirely and throwing Zazz off his mojo. The Zeti would flail his limbs from the slamming icicle spikes before tumbling down the cliffside... and straight onto an Egg Pawn, completely throwing Zeena off of her sultry act.
"Z-Zazz?!" Zeena yelled, getting to her feet.
"WE'VE BEEN COMPROMISED!" Zazz yelled, prompting Zomom to rush out from his spot and gut-check one of the Blowfish Transporters straight into another one, exploding the two entirely as the Badniks were sent sprawling in the confusion. Soon enough an all out brawl erupted in the valley as it was the three Zeti vs. an entire regime of Badniks at the same time, what's more being that their magnetic field manipulation abilities on them would be useless as they were summoned by the Phantom Ruby and as a result couldn't be controlled. Zomom would almost immediately suplex another Blowfish Transporter as Zeena used her energy tether on her snowman head and swung it like a mace, sending the Badniks sprawling in scrap metal as Zazz kept tearing his ones from the inside out like some sort of demonic Xenomorph.
Though the fighting would soon be coming to an immediate and immeasurable halt as several gigantic icicle spikes slammed down, completely obliterating any of the other Badniks in the area... yet leaving the Zeti's completely unharmed. All three would be in complete shock as they looked around at the metallic carnage around them, complete with an icicle garnish and light frosting.
"What the..." Zeena breathed, looking around the area. "Wh-who's there?! Who's here with us?!"
Zazz growled, his claws sharp and his eyes darting around the area for the intruder as Zomom stomped the ground. The three of them were looking ready for a brawl before a figure appeared on the uppermost spire of ice, looking down on the three.
"You three can drop the acts now, I've got no beef with you at all." A voice came from the figure, a white female avian.
Zeena almost recognized the voice instantly. "You! You're the one from Shuigang!"
"Yeah, so what if I am?" The avian asked, jumping down from the ice spike and landing in front of the Zeti trio. "Because unless you're one of those Phantom whatchamacallits, then there's absolutely no reason for you to try and fight me."
"Waitwaitwait, hold up. You two know about each other?" Zazz asked Zeena and the avian.
"Hanna and Rob have told me about her." Zeena responded to Zazz, glancing over at the avian. "She's apparently-"
"Not important." The falcon coldly interrupted. "Also, I'd suggest putting some damn clothes on, but given your choice of wardrobe is a sweater, beanie and scarf in 90 degree weather, then you having your assets out is certainly a lot better than whatever the hell you were thinking before getting here."
"Anyways, why are you here, lady?" Zazz asked the avian. "You gonna warn us about somethin'?"
"Yeah. Long and short is, increased security around Blue Ball Senior." The falcon spoke. "It'll be no use trying to sneak around or pull the little slut act Zeena was trying to do, since you're going to get caught anyways. No doubt the badniks have already radio'd the others about you."
"It's Master Zik." Zeena snapped at the falcon, the avian responding with a mere rolling of the eyes. "And secondly, that's really no thanks to you."
"Look, you were going to be found out anyways." The falcon responded. "Doing that whole act over here of all places would've only hurt your chances of rescuing your shriveled-up blueberry of a master anyways if he were around." She'd then notice the badniks' Phantom Ruby energy leaking out of their shells, causing them to disintegrate slowly. "And chances are, we don't have much longer before the heavy artillery gets here..."
The quartet made their way to the door leading into the large, fortified compound which held Master Zik. The cool, air-conditioned atmosphere was practically bliss to the avian, although the Zetis did not care much for the difference, if at all.
"So… Uhh… What's the plan?" Zomom asked the group.
"Like we did earlier." Zeena began. "We snea-"
However, the green Zeti was interrupted by the falcon running into the compound without a second thought.
"HEY! GET BACK OVER HERE!" Zeena yelled after the avian, yet Zazz and Zomom gave chase. "Ugh… This is unbelievable…" The zeti groaned as she made her way into the compound behind the trio.
"…Blackjack." An Egg Pawn spoke as he laid down a spread of Eggman Empire-branded playing cards, each one with the doctor's face prominently shown at the front, alongside a corresponding number. 6, 7,10, and King were shown.
"…We aren't even playing Blackjack." Another Egg Pawn spoke to his comrade. The area was swarming with Egg Pawns performing manual labor around the compound, with Clucker turrets standing guard for the rumored intruders, with Slicers and Shellcrackers wandering around the area on patrol.
This peace would not last, however, as the sight of a rather determined avian sprinting through the entrance caused alarms to blare all over the facility, with the Zeti trio following closely behind.
"I-INTRUDERS!" An Egg Pawn shouted, taking aim at the avian at the front. The Slicers immediately went to launch their boomerang claw-scythes, the Shellcrackers launching their oversized claws at the Zeti, and the Cluckers opening machine gun fire at the avian. It was absolute chaos, and the falcon was the one being focused.
Zeena got behind Zomom, as he was able to take the brunt of the impacts while Zazz got behind a Slicer and snapped its head clean off, laughing maniacally. "COME ON! WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME?!" The thin, purple Zeti grinned as he took the Slicer's scythe and threw it, cleaving through a good portion of the enemy Badniks.
The falcon, meanwhile, yelled as two ice hands began to punch the bullets before they could hit her, going for the Cluckers. When she got into range, their guns were frozen shut, causing the Badniks to self-destruct from the overbearing pressure. She then fired several icicles, piercing a few of the Egg Pawns.
Zeena used her energy tether to grab one of the Egg Pawns and began to twirl it around in the air. "Zomom! Throw me!" The green Zeti commanded the large, yellow Zeti. Zomom grabbed Zeena and threw her over one of the Shellcrackers, which immediately fired at her. The green Zeti then took the opportunity to slam the Egg Pawn into the oncoming claw and, when she landed, flip the Shellcracker and the Egg Pawn, which was stuck onto it with a giant claw in its abdomen, onto the ground, shattering the two of them.
"Alright! Now that was fun! When can I do that again?!" Zazz cackled triumphantly.
"Good news: not too long!" Zeena replied as more reinforcements soon swarmed the area, the Zetis and falcon becoming completely surrounded by the new waves of Egg Pawns, Shellcrackers, and Slicers. The group went up behind each other, each one staring down a group of enemies in front of them.
"Alright, genius, got any more brilliant ideas, or are we just going to get torched by plasma fire?!" Zeena shouted at the avian.
"You're right. You are." The falcon responded as she flew into the air, busting into an air vent in the ceiling and crawling on through."
"Oh, that MOTHERFU-"
"One of the intruders is crawling through the air vents!" An Egg Pawn interrupted the green Zeti before she could finish her expletive. "Activate the interior Asterons!"
"Uh oh... I don't think that birdie is gonna make it out..." Zomom spoke.
"Who cares, she got us into this mess, and now we have to fight our way out of it!" Zeena snapped. "Come on, let's beat the bolts off of these guys!"
The three Zetis got into their combat stances as they prepared to fight off the incoming waves of enemy Badniks that surround them from all sides, Zazz with his stolen Slicer blade, Zeena readying her energy tether, and Zomom eating one last sandwich before they charged into battle against the endless horde…
And as for the falcon, she got into the vents relatively unharmed for the most part. The vents, being vents, were obviously dark, save for the beams of light that shone underneath to circulate the cooling air throughout the building. In the distance, fans would be heard softly whirring to circulate yet more air. Knowing these guys, they're going to be undoubtedly activating some interior defenses… She thought. And then, a sheet of ice formed over her from head to toe several inches thick, acting as protection from any attack she may come across within the confines of the ventilation systems.
And thus, the falcon began crawling through the vents, the ice armor being rather cumbersome, yet an absolute necessity if she desired to survive against whatever the Eggman Empire had installed in the defenses. Her suspicions would be confirmed when she heard a soft beeping to her left, and two small spikes shot into her armor, deeply penetrating, yet not piercing her skin. Of course. Asterons. My lucky day. The falcon thought, grunting as she moved along. She plucked one of the spikes out of her armor and froze the protective suit back together as she continued to crawl through, making a sharp left.
When she did, she thumbed the spike she had just plucked out, and flicked it to the other end of the ventilation system. It met metal, yet it was thin, and seemed to be moving excessively quickly. It was one of the fans that was cooling down the whole building. That's not it… Then it has to be the right way, then.
Taking a complete 180, she crawled to the other end instead, taking the other spike and thumbing it, preparing for another Asteron attack, until she looked up. There, she saw an Asteron crawling on its spikes to a new location, like some sort of twisted spider. She snatched it from the ceiling, and held it close to her, yet not so close that if it were to suddenly launch out its spikes, it would not pierce any part of her body. Crawling yet more, she came across a four-way intersection in the ventilation.
"Well, look at that, little guy…" The falcon spoke. "You'll actually be useful for once." Soon after, she threw the Asteron onto the ground. It then burst its spikes, shooting into the corners of the vent near her, and the three other spikes shot straight ahead, to the left, and to the right. To the left, a similar sound to the fan she just broke was heard. To the right, another Asteron was shot, destroying any chance it had of surprising her. And straight ahead… Nothing but the thud of a metal wall.
…Alright. That one's a complete dead end. It might be what we're looking for… She thought, soon crawling to the location… And beneath her lay the room she really was looking for: The room which held Master Zik and his fake, Phantom Ruby-powered clone.
"Hm? What was that?" The fake Zik commented, only to have a small Asteron spike fall in front of him. He gripped the spike tightly. "Hm. So one of the intruders really has been crawling through the vents… But last I heard, Zor was still contained within Relic Maze…"
The falcon grinned. Nice going, asshole. You just gave me a bonus gift on top of what I was looking for… She thought, then turning around…
…Only to see a bunch of Asterons angrily looking at her, blocking her path.
"…Shit." Was all she could mutter before the Asterons shot violently towards her…
"Ugh!" Zeena growled, using her Energy Tether, which was holding a Slicer's blade, to decapitate an Egg Pawn. Strewn about the group of Zetis was a large pile of varied Badniks that they had ruthlessly demolished. Zazz was panting through his physical exertion, and Zomom had various burns on his thick body. Overall, the trio were gravely injured due to the stunt the falcon had just pulled.
"That ASSHOLE!" Zeena growled. "I swear, she'd better have a reason for leaving us like that!"
Her exclamation would only be met by a mildly bloodied falcon falling from the air vent, with several spikes sticking from a layer of ice armor. She shakily stood up and dispersed her ice armor, applying some pinkish-red paste over her wounds. The Asteron spikes fell to her sides soon after.
"Holy shit, she got into way more of a fight than we did!" Zazz exclaimed. "Hey, lady, how many bots were you bashing without me, huh?"
"If you went with me… You would've died, numbnuts." The falcon grunted as she finished applying the paste, stretching soon after. "I went to find the actual place your leader was being held."
"And?" Zeena asked, raising an eyebrow. "We almost died thanks to you!"
"Yes, but I also got the location of Zor in the process." The falcon responded, immediately silencing the green Zeti. "Relic Maze. It's a temple near the intersection of the three Kingdoms and used to be where the old Kingdom Stone was held before the Brevon Incident a while back."
"…Well then, maybe your little stunt was worth something after all." Zeena apologized. "But next time, you should tell us when you are going to do something like that!"
"Yeah, and put all of us in a worse state in the long run?" The falcon asked. "I didn't think so."
"Uhh, shouldn't we get going for Zik?" Zomom asked the group.
"Oh, well look at that, someone here actually has some hustle, and it's the slowest one of us!" Zazz sneered. "Come on, I want to see more bots bashed!"
"More than likely we took care of every Badnik in the compound." Zeena responded. "All that's left guarding Zik is-"
"Zik." The falcon interrupted. "There are two of them. The real one is stuck in a crystal of some kind, while the other one is trying to keep guard."
"Which means that this fake one probably fights with the same ferocity as the real deal…" Zeena shivered.
"Doubtful. The Ruby copies are typically imperfect." The falcon replied to Zeena. "Although you are right in us having to be more careful when facing him."
"…Right. Let's get moving!" Zeena spoke soon after, the group running alongside her towards the chamber that was holding Master Zik in captivity, the falcon leading the charge…
The group arrived near the chamber holding Master Zik, and were peeking past a corner. Leading into the chamber was an unusually long and wide hallway, with not much else going on. But what was strangest of all regarding the site was the fact that the Fake Zik was no longer there. It was almost as if he vanished.
"Well, seems like he left!" Zazz grunted. "Shame, I was looking forward to tearing him in two!" He spoke, going into the hallway.
"Zazz, wait!" The falcon and Zeena shouted in unison, going after him.
"I got you right where I want you…" The Fake Zik's voice menacingly reverberated around the area. The group was dumbfounded, looking around for the source of the voice… Only for them to realize it was behind them the entire time.
The Fake Zik was standing at the edge of the hallway, on top of a giant watermelon with his infamous staff in hand. He stood there, grinning at the Zeti trio and falcon with intense bloodlust. "For the Empire, I will make sure you whelps never come back from the dead!"
"Shit! Run!" Zeena shouted, running quickly. The falcon, Zazz and Zomom took after her, as the diminutive cyan Zeti took after them, rolling atop his watermelon.
"Hah… Hah… Ooohhhh maaaaan…" Zomom panted, trailing behind. "I want my mommy!"
The falcon looked behind her and saw Zomom was not fit enough to outrun the watermelon. Undoubtedly, he would be flattened. You've gotta be kidding me… She thought, stopping her run soon.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Zeena shouted after the falcon, only to have her eyes widen at the oncoming giant watermelon.
The falcon slammed into Zomom's behind with an ice fist, causing him to launch forward on his stomach. Acting quickly, she took the opportunity to jump onto his back and freeze the ground beneath him, making the rotund yellow Zeti act as a sled, quickly gaining speed through the falcon's efforts in pushing him via two ice hands.
"Hm, impressive, feathered one!" Fake Zik taunted. "But it is not enough!" He soon began to throw oranges in front of him, bowling over to the falcon and large Zeti. In response, she quickly turned Zomom away from the oranges, swerving him from side to side in an attempt to throw off Zik's aim.
"Hey, geezer!" The falcon taunted. "For someone who eats healthy, you sure have a shitty bowling arm!"
"Grr! I'll have you hold your tongue, avian!" Fake Zik growled, pulling out three bananas and throwing them towards the group. The falcon ducked, yet it seemed as if Fake Zik wasn't even aiming for her…
…He was aiming for Zeena and Zazz instead!
"Oh, you have to be kidding me!" The falcon shouted, quickly moving to grab Zeena and Zazz with the ice hands she had before they could be struck by the bananas.
"Hey! What the?!" Zeena exclaimed before looking at the situation more closely. "Alright! Now this is-"
"Incoming!" Zazz shouted as the bananas soon turned around completely and began flying in the direction of the watermelon!
"You've gotta be kidding me, boomerang bananas?!" The falcon shouted as she began to pummel ahead of her with her ice fists, destroying the curved yellow projectiles before they could strike the quartet.
"Hm, impressive, but I have one more trick up my sleeve!" Fake Zik grinned, pulling out a… Rather large cherry bunch. The two cherries were paired together, almost twice as large as Zik himself, and when he threw them…
…They began to ignite soon after.
"Oh great, we've got a cherry bomb!" The falcon shouted. She couldn't pummel them away since that may explode them prematurely. For that same reason, she couldn't deflect them either.
"Uhh… Guys..?" Zomom asked. "We're close to the place holding Master Zik!"
"Yeah, but we have more important things to worry about, like the old man trying to blow us up!" Zazz exclaimed.
Thinking quickly, the falcon realized she had no choice. She stopped freezing the ground before the cherry bombs got too near, and disengaged her ice hands in favor of the ice armor.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Zeena shouted at the falcon. "You need to protect us to-"
Before she could finish, Zomom reached the end of the icy path and tripped over, doing a complete front-flip. The cherry bombs exploded violently soon after, striking Zomom's stomach and sending the Zetis and the falcon rocketing toward Zik's chamber, faster than Fake Zik could really keep up.
The group was screaming before reaching the room, when all of them collapsed upon the ground, the falcon sliding across before bumping into the crystal containing Zik.
"Greetings." Master Zik spoke to the group. "I had a feeling you were not far-"
"Not now, old man!" The falcon shouted before bolting for the entrance, freezing it shut with a thick layer of ice. This caused the giant watermelon to burst, cracking the ice somewhat, although not enough to break the wall.
"Nice going there, guys!" Zeena congratulated everyone. "Even you, uhh… Lady?"
"Call me Kori Kaze." The falcon spoke curtly in response. "No other name is necessary."
"Hm. You hide behind a mask, young one." Master Zik spoke. "Eventually, you will have to come out of it."
"…What fucking mask?" Kori asked the small Zeti. "All I know is, we have to bust you out, and we have to-"
Kori's words were interrupted by a blast occurring just outside, shattering the ice wall. The Zetis came face-to-face with a very pissed Fake Zik, staring them down.
"Oh, I am going to enjoy tearing you apart, especially the bird before me!" Fake Zik spoke menacingly, getting atop his staff. "Soon, you will-"
His speech was interrupted by an Ice Fist slamming into him, knocking him off of his cane. The aged Zeti let off a weak grunt as he slid across the floor, bumping against a large computer. Kori crouched in front of him, leering at Fake Zik.
"You know, if you really wanted to kill us, you would've already done so instead of making a whole speech about it." Kori spoke to Fake Zik, almost taunting him, in a way.
"But… But that's not how it works…" Fake Zik gasped. "You… You were supposed to let me finish and refute with your own speech…"
"That only works in shitty tv shows, old man." Kori spoke, kicking him. "And besides, I think this works so much better!"
Kori would continue to kick Fake Zik as Zeena began to work on freeing Master Zik from the crystal, typing in several passwords before finally causing the crystal to disintegrate completely, freeing him.
"It is wonderful to see you again, Zeena." Master Zik smiled. "How has the Resistance treated you thus far?"
"They've been good, Master." Zeena smiled, hugging him. "I'm just glad to see you're okay…"
"Hey, birdie!" Zazz shouted, striding towards Kori. "Mind if I join in on the fun?!"
"Sure, go right ahead!" Kori responded. Soon, the white falcon and pink Zeti were kicking the copy of Zik to a bloody pulp as Zeena and Zomom rested, watching the spectacle unfold before them…
"No, no no no NO!" Doctor Eggman screamed, slamming a central console with a live camera feed of Zik's Chamber before him. "How could they have beaten him so easily?! I thought that those Zetis would've been destroyed by now!"
"Doctor, it's the avian with them." Infinite informed Eggman, gesturing at Kori, still kicking Fake Zik with Zazz. "She had turned the tide in their favor…"
"Oh, what's this now about some stupid bird?" Doctor Eggman spoke, dismissing Kori entirely. "Besides, she's just another pesky Resistance member, it isn't like she's much different from all the others, is she?!"
"She is different." Infinite responded. "Because she is not a Resistance member."
"…Huh? What are you talking about?" Doctor Eggman asked. "Are you trying to say you knew all about her and did nothing?!"
"Yes. Because in all but a select few of the possibilities I saw for our Empire, she had done absolutely nothing." Infinite answered. "She wasn't as much of a threat to us as the mechanical bear was."
"Speaking of, did you manage to kill him by any chance?" Eggman asked Infinite. "Because the last thing I need is yet another mechanic trying to outdo me!"
"…That much is uncertain." Infinite responded. "He and his feline companion may be surviving, but only barely. They pose no threat to us as of now."
"Alright, then what about this one, huh?" Eggman spat, pointing at Kori, who had just gotten done kicking Fake Zik into a pile of Phantom Ruby energy, returning a high-five to Zazz, who was visibly excited about kicking him to mush.
"Oh… I shall have my methods of dealing with this… Emotionally vulnerable one..." Infinite spoke, a slight grin escaping him beneath his mask.
And so, the Deadly Three reunite with Master Zik, and in the process, meet a new ally in Kori Kaze! But the adventure isn't over yet, as the group now heads for Relic Maze to rescue Zor in Chapter 26: "Temple of Gloom"!
