It took a lot of running, but they finally found Metal Sonic just like Amy predicted. It took a lot of punches and kicks, but they finally destroyed the fake Metal Sonic.

Penny gasped, falling to her knees in exhaustion. "We...did...it..."

Sonic grinned as he walked up beside her. "Hey, that was great! We were like a well-oiled machine...fighting a well oiled machine." He snickered and held up his fist.

Penny grinned, panting as she high fived him back.

Tails' voice came over the radio. "Got it, Sonic! I figured out a way to stop Eggman's Phantom Ruby!"

"Great work, Tails!" Sonic grinned.

"How?" Penny asked curiously.

"Based on these readings, the Phantom Ruby requires an incredible amount of energy, which only the Death Egg can provide. We simply stop the energy transfer, and boom! The Phantom Ruby is practically useless!"

"Simply?" Knuckles scoffed. "Last I checked the Death Egg is a heavily fortified...well... Death Egg,"

"True." Tails said. "But I came up with a plan."

"What's your plan?" Penny asked curiously.

"First, we distract Eggman. While he's not paying attention, we use the Chemical Plant computer to hack into the Death Egg's weapon system and shut it down. With no weapons, the Death Egg will be a piece of cake. No Death Egg means the Phantom Ruby is nearly useless!"

Knuckles hummed thoughtfully. "Well, you know, it's just crazy enough to work! So first we'll need a distraction. I'm on it!

Amy scoffed. "No way, Knuckles. You're too easily distracted. That's not a good trait for distraction. Plus you're our commander! We need you here!"

"How about Penny?" Silver asked suddenly. "Eggman will never expect it. It may even throw him off a little."

Sonic frowned. He was about to protest when Knuckles answered. "Good idea, you got your orders, Pen. We only have one more day before Eggman's plan is executed, so let's hustle!"

Sonic frowned at Penny when she turned off her radio. "Penny, are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure!" Penny said, giving Sonic a determined look. "We can't let Eggman win! And for once, surprisingly, I actually agree with Silver and Knuckles."

"Usually I would, but it seems that they're always turning to you..." Sonic sighed, sighing in annoyance. "I mean, why can't they send someone else for a change..."

"Hey. Sonic. I survived a fight no one else could." Penny said. "I think I'll be okay."

Sonic sighed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot on the ground. She did have a point, but she got hurt after that fight, and he swore to himself that she would never get hurt again, not on his watch. What was even more annoying was that she was agreeing to a risky plan, and he didn't like it.

But she had shown protentional. She'd gotten a bit stronger than the last time he saw her, and braver, too. She was right...if she could survive a fight with Infinite, she could do this.

"Well?" Penny's impatient voice interrupted his thoughts. "Am I gonna do this or not?"

Sonic turned to her, finally smiling. "Sure." He said, shooting her a thumbs up. "Just try to make it back in one piece, okay?"

Penny grinned, tackling Sonic in a tight hug. "Promise."

It took a lot of running, but Tails' distraction plan was soon coming into place. She surprised herself when she managed to destroy a spider bot with just a swing with her and her grappling hook. She hopped up to safety as she watched the beast collide with the ground.

"Man, I wish Sonic could've saw that!" The girl grinned, putting her hands on her hips and watching the destruction in front of her.

With that done, she hurried off.

Sonic ran for a while, but his anxiety about Penny got the best of him, and he decided to give HQ a call. "I'm almost at the chemical plant," Sonic announced. "How's Penny doing with the distraction?"

"So far so good." Knuckles grinned. "We might have to stop using the nickname "Rookie" if she keeps this up."

"You're the one who calls her that." Sonic sighed.

"True." Knuckles said with a sigh.

"Next, we've got to get to the computers of the Chemical Plant and shut down the Death Egg's weapon system." Tails said.

"Perfect!" Sonic grinned at the radio. "I've been waiting for my turn to bust some heads!"

"Mission completed." Rouge told Penny over the radio. "The Phantom Ruby has gotten much weaker."

"Awesome!" Penny grinned.

"This should effectively put a stop to the doctor's greatest weapon." Shadow said.

"The Sonics have made an opening for us." Vector announced. "We can't just let that go to waste."

"This is the moment we've been waiting for!" Silver cheered. "Time to settle the score!"

"Now that the Phantom Ruby's outta the way, we can finally smash Eggman into an omelet!"

"An omelet!" Penny wheezed, laughing. "Good one, Knux!"

"You know what I mean." Knuckles sighed.

"Hey." Rouge told Knuckles sternly. "Don't count your chickens before you smash your eggs!"

"Rouge is right." Sonic said suddenly. "The fact that Eggman and Infinite are still around means we can't let our guard down."

"I just want everyone to get home safely, okay?" Amy asked, voice full of worry.

"All right," Knuckles sighed. "Fine. Everyone get your game face on! The target is Eggman at the Central Tower!"

"Game face, huh?" Penny hummed. She scrunched up to her face until she could get it right. "Let's do this!"