Rouge tilts her head "This is gonna end well" the two sides stride towards each other. It starts to turn into a jog, Tails glances at Sonic "They're not stopping" "Neither are we". The two clash, Sonic throws a punch at Shadow which he blocks with a shield. Mighty and Bark meet in mid-air. Whisper fires up at Blaze, Silver throws blasts of energy at Tails as Manic fights Rouge. Espio attacks Omega. As Shadow fights a rocket is shot by Whisper at Sonic launching him back. Tails tries to dodge projectiles from Silver as Rouge kicks Manic out of the way and rushes Whisper. Whisper pins her down and the two glance at each other "We're still friends, right?" "Depends on how hard you hit me". Rouge frees herself and was about to kick Whisper, but her foot is caught by Silver who throws her into a metal wall. Silver looks to Whisper "You were pulling your punches". Omega has Espio by the throat "I didn't kill your father" "Then why did you run?". Espio grabs Maria's hand and is actually able to push it back. He then kicks her in the chest and takes out a kunai to stab through her eye, but he is caught by Silver who throws him into a passenger gangway. Shadow runs to help Bark when Tails lands in front of him "I've never seen a Chaos Emerald up close" "Look, kid, there's a lot going on here that you don't understand" "Mr Sonic said you'd say that".
Tails rushes him, Shadow forms a shield, but Tails slide kicks him tripping him up "He also said to go for your legs". Shadow gets back up; Tails prepare to attack but Shadow makes a gesture and a spear embedded in the ground behind Tails comes back and hits him in the leg throwing him forward and past Shadow. Bark was flying around trying to keep away from Sonic "Whisper, can you get him off me?". Whisper held up her wispon which was now black "Buckled in". From inside the wispon Manic's voice could be heard "Yeah. No, I'm good. I'm good, skittle lady. Let's go". She fires a black bomb that Manic was holding onto towards Sonic. Before it explodes Manic jumps up and onto Sonic's arm which he doesn't notice". Tails leaped towards Shadow who punched him. He quickly recovers and flies back up onto the walkway. Shadow stares up at him impressed "Sonic tell you anything else?" "That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous". He flies down but Shadow quickly kicks him onto the leg of the gangway "Guess he had a point". Shadow throws a spear at both the legs. The gangway falls and Tails with some struggle catches it.
Shadow smirks "You got heart, kid. Where you from" "Uh… Emerald Hill". Shadow slightly chuckles "Westopolis". Sonic was trying to find Whisper when his lenses suddenly malfunctioned "Nicole, what's happening" "Systems are being damaged, sir". Sonic flew upwards when his bounce bracelet and flame ring suddenly shattered then "Oh, you're gonna have to take these into the shop". Sonic stared confused "Who's speaking?" "It's your conscience. We don't talk a lot these days". Sonic closes his eyes and his body suddenly started to spark with electricity. Mini-Manic who was running up Sonic's arm was suddenly shocked and thrown off of Sonic. Shadow and Omega took cover nearby "We gotta go. That guy's probably in Ice Cap by now" "We gotta draw out the flyers. I'll take Blaze, you get to the jet". He heard Bark "No, both of you get to the jet! The rest of us aren't getting out of here". Then Whisper "As much as I hate to admit it if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it" "This isn't the real fight, Shadow". Shadow sighed "Alright, Bark. What's the play?" "We need a diversion. Something big". They then heard Manic "I got something kind of big. But I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half don't come back for me". Omega glanced at Shadow "He's gonna tear himself in half?" "You sure about this, Manic?".
Mini-Manic was running across a walkway "I do it all the time. Well, I mean once. In a lab. Then I passed out". He took a breath "I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss". He jumped off and landed on Mighty's leg as he flew past chasing Bark. Mighty turns the dial on his medallion right, closed his eyes and pressed it. Manic suddenly grows giant size and grabs Mighty's leg keeping him in place. Tails backs away in shock "Holy shit!". Manic opened his eyes and laughed amazed by himself. Mighty looked back at him "Okay, tiny dude is big now. He's big now". Shadow was standing open mouthed "I guess that's the signal". Bark flew around him grinning "Way to go, Tic Tac". Sonic was glaring up at the giant hedgehog "Give me back my Mighty". Manic threw Mighty away "I got him" Tails flew up and tried to catch him. He grabbed his arms and flew in the other direction slowing him down. Manic kicked a bus at Espio but before it hit Blaze landed in front of him and broke the bus in half. Manic then tore off the wing of the plane and threw it at Sonic forcing him to evade "Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose I'm open to suggestions". Bark flies towards him and fires Barky which hits Sonic in the head.
Espio chased after Shadow and Whisper but Manic then got in his way "You wanna get to them, you gotta go through me". He sweeps his foot across and hits Espio. Manic was about to grab him but Mighty flew in and punched him in the face making him tumble back. Tails then joined Mighty and the two kept Manic distracted. Espio got up but then dodged a shot by Whisper. She fired a rocket, but Espio made a shield with his bracers and blocked it. Whisper looked surprised "We haven't met yet. I'm Whisper" "I don't care" the two fought. Mighty spots Shadow and tries to get to him but Silver hits him crashing him into a plane. Tails flies in front of Manic's face and he tries to hit him away "Hey! Get away!". Taking advantage of the distraction Blaze flies forward and hits Manic in the stomach and he falls against the plane next to him. She looks up and spots Shadow and Omega. Espio is able to overpower Whisper and kicked her to the ground and he makes a run for the two of them as well. Blaze turns pink and phases through Manic as he tries to grab her. He feels his own chest afraid "Something just flew in me!". Blaze shot a beam of fire at the tower near the hanger, and it started to collapse at the entrance. A massive cyan barrier formed under the debris keeping the entrance clear. Shadow glanced back and saw Silver with struggle holding it up. Shadow and Omega both had their jets activated going as fast as possible.
Mighty landed behind Silver and threw him aside. Shadow and Omega just managed to make it under the debris before it fell. Rouge however was in front of the Tornado staring at Shadow "You're not gonna stop" "You know I can't". She sighed and took out a bomb "I'm gonna regret this" she threw it, but it went past Shadow and hit Espio who made it through the debris. The bomb broke apart and electrocuted Espio. Shadow looked back to Rouge who gestured to the jet "Go!". Shadow gave a thankful nod to her and run to the Tornado with Omega. Espio tried to give chase, but Rouge threw another bomb. He made a shield, but the energy passed through it and still electrocuted him. Outside Mighty flew back to Manic who was trying to hit Tails away. Tails landed on the ground and saw a long, hooked metal cable attached to a truck. He smirked "Hey, guys, you ever see the second Chao in space movie? Badniks strike Back?". Sonic rolled his eyes and he heard Mighty "Gaia, Sonic, how old is this guy?" "I don't know, I didn't carbon-date him. He's on the young side". Tail grabbed the cable and started flying around Manic's legs "You know that part where they're on the snow planet with the walking thingies?". Sonic watched "Maybe the kid's onto something" "High now, Sonic. Go high". Sonic and Mighty both few towards Manic, with a spin dash and a punch Manic fell back unable to keep his balance. Tails let go of the cable and gave Sonic a thumbs up "Yes! That was awesome". Manic's hand hit Tails in mid-air throwing him into a pile of boxes. Manic fell on his back and now very tired decided to shrink himself back down to normal. He grimaced "Does anyone have any orange slices?".
Sonic lands near Tails and looks concerned as Tail's was lying on his stomach. Sonic kneeled down "Kid, you alright?". Tails turned around and tried to throw a punch which Sonic caught "Whoa! Same side! Hi, it's me". Tails realized it was him and sighed "Hey, man. That was scary" "Okay, you're done, alright?" "What? I'm good, I'm fine". Sonic shook his head "No. Stay down!" "No, it's good" "You're going home, or I'll call Aunt Bunnie! You're done!". Sonic flew away, Tails tried to get back up "Wait. Mr Sonic, wait. I'm not done. I'm not-". He slumps back feeling pain in his ribs "Okay, I'm done. I'm done". Inside the hanger the Tornado begins to take off. Espio gets past Rouge and jumps up but is unable to keep hold and falls back down. The Tornado flies out of the hanger with Mighty giving chase. Espio turns to Rouge who gulps "I said I'd help you find her, not catch her. There's a difference". Blaze landed next to the downed Silver. She touched his shoulder, but he quickly jumped back and raised his hand to her threateningly. Blaze raised her arms calmingly "I'm sorry". Silver lowered his hands "Me, too" "It's as I said. Catastrophe". Sonic and Mighty were both flying after the Tornado with Bark behind them. Mighty saw him "Blaze, I got a bandit on my six". Bark fired a missile out of the front of his board. It went ahead of Mighty and exploded making him evade "Blaze! You copy? Target his thrusters, he'll parachute back down". Blaze still in front of Silver looked up and threw a ball of fire at Bark. He spotted it and moved out of the way, and it hit Mighty. It damages his shoes stopping them and he goes into freefall. Sonic saw and gave up his pursuit of the Tornado "Mighty!". Bark also dived down trying to get to him. Mighty was trying to keep calm but he could tell that blast drained some of his power ring. He didn't know how much protection he had "Sonic, my shoes are gone! I don't... I...". He feels faint and passes out. Sonic at top speed dives towards him "MIGHTY!". He and Bark both try to catch him but just before they can Mighty slams into the grassy field. Sonic lands nearby and kneels down next to Mighty. His fur was bloody, and his face was stuck in a pained expression. Sonic stared at him in disbelief "Read vitals" "Heartbeat detected. Emergency medical is on its way". Bark landed nearby "I'm sorry". Sonic looked up and within a split second Bark was now knocked over and Sonic was back with Mighty and put his hands on his head and chest. Blaze arrived and Sonic glared at her.
Vesper was in a small shop at Ice Cap looking out of a window. He had his phone out and the voice of his hotel maid from Echidnaopolis was on the other end "Zimmerservice" "Das ist Zimmer 201" "Heute wieder Speck und schwarzer Kaffee". Vesper gave a fake chuckle "Du kennst mich so gut".
At his hotel room the maid knocked on the door of the empty room "Hallo? Dein Frühstück ist da. Darf ich mich einlassen?". No answer so she opens the door with the breakfast tray. She notices the room is empty and puts the tray on the table "Hallo?". She looks into the next room and then into the open bathroom where a bloodied hand was hanging out of the bath. The maid gasped and backed away in fright.