It's time for the next chapter.

In the last chapter, Mintra outlasted Tobias in a tournament held on the day before Christmas to win it, and proposed to Vanilla, which she accepted. Cream was born a few years later.

We're getting down to the final few chapters. I decided that it was time for the climax to this story.

Chapter 8: Death of a Hero.

The racers were on the ship, and had just listened to Mintra tell about his tournament win, as well as his proposal to Vanilla. Meanwhile, Armand had decided it was time.

"As you all know, Nega attacked multiple times since I was born. None of those battles were important enough to tell about, except for that one time he became a hero. But this next part…is the part that hurts me to tell about." Armand said, a little hesitant in the last sentence.

Zeus saw this coming. He knew what Armand was about to bring up.

"Armand, are you sure you want to tell about this? Remember that you told me what happened, and I can take over if you want me to." Zeus offered.

"No, it's best if I tell it." Armand declined.

"Alright. If you want to." Zeus said, then took a seat. Everyone gathered around to hear what this was about.

"Ten years ago, my father fought his last battle. It didn't end well, because Nega managed to finally kill him." Armand began to explain.

10 years from present day…

"I was seven years old at the time." Armand narrated. "I've told some of you about this part, but the rest of you don't know about this. I was playing with Basil and Axel, and my parents were watching us, making sure we didn't get hurt. Team Legendary, as well as Accel and Mech, were taking a vacation. Everything was going well, when Nega appeared."

Armand, Axel, and Basil were playing tag, and Tobias and Alicia were watching them. It was a clear, warm, sunny day in Station Square, with hardly a cloud in the sky. All of a sudden, a large shadow loomed over them. It was a large black battleship. Tobias and Alicia knew who it was from the start.

"Tobias, it's him!" Alicia said, nervous.

"Why now? When it's a time of peace?" Tobias asked. The three kids ran up to them and hid behind them.

"Daddy, I'm scared." Armand said nervously.

"Stop him, Mr. Novak!" Basil said.

"Don't worry, kids. He'll never succeed. He never does." Tobias calmly told them as a hole appeared in the bottom, releasing a large robot. Eggman Nega was sitting in the cockpit, as usual.

"Ah, if it isn't my longtime enemy? How is life treating you, Tobias?" Nega asked.

"Shut up, Nega. I was enjoying life until you showed up." Tobias remarked.

"Well, aren't you harsh?" Nega asked as a claw appeared from the machine and grabbed the three kids right out from behind him. "I think I'll take these three little rats. Who knows, they might make useful henchmen."

"Daddy, help us!" Armand yelled.

"Not so fast, Nega!" Someone yelled.

A water lasso came out of nowhere, latched onto the claw, and held it in place. It was Thomas, Basil's father.

"Let go of the kids!" Someone else yelled.

A meteor punch came out of nowhere and severed the claw from the robot. It was Jason, Axel's father. Tobias used his grapple hook to grab the kids and save them, then told them to go hide, along with Alicia, who told Basil and Axel to get to their houses, and not to come out.

"Now that the kids are out of danger, let's show him who he's messing with." Tobias told Thomas and Jason.

The battle began with Thomas firing some water blasts at the robot, causing a distraction so that Jason could get behind him. But Nega had upgraded the robot, and it now had a radar which allowed him to see enemies in the rear. The robot back-kicked Jason before turning around and blasting him with a laser. Jason managed to dodge it, but the kick left him disabled temporarily.

"You fools! This is the same robot that you guys fought when I first came to take over this city. Except I upgraded this robot to be superior to your attacks." Nega told them. "The same techniques you used to defeat the last one won't work on this one."

"Then I guess we'll need to try a new one." Tobias said. He formed his laser sword while Thomas formed his aqua sword. They both charged at Nega, but the robot stomped down, releasing a shockwave that knocked them back. They quickly recovered and charged again, and when the next shockwave came at them, they jumped over it and reached the legs. They tried to strike the legs, hoping to at least damage it, but their strikes did nothing. Nega then unleashed another shockwave, which threw the two back in opposite directions. By this time, Jason had recovered.

"I will not allow you to win." Jason said.

He ran at the large robot, jumped into the air, and tried to punch it. However, when he did, his punch recoiled without doing any damage.

"Mwa ha ha! Nice try, Jason, but this whole robot has auto-upgrading armor. Only this time, the armor's more powerful than anything you've ever faced." Nega taunted.

Jason believed him. His punch would recoil against only the most durable of armor. He could try his Earth Bomb, but he wondered if it would have any effect or not. He could try, at least.

"Guys, cover me!" Jason called to Tobias and Thomas. He then crouched down and started to gather energy for his attack. Tobias and Thomas began attacking Eggman Nega so Jason wouldn't be interrupted. Tobias fired several lasers while Thomas formed two Aqua Bombs and tossed them. The attacks weren't enough to damage the robot, but they were enough to keep his attention. The two kept it up until Jason was ready.

"Stand back!" Jason called before unleashing his attack. "EARTH BOMB!"

The attack flew towards the large robot and went inside it, then exploded. The large explosion that resulted caused a shockwave that knocked Tobias, Thomas, and Jason back. When the dust cleared, the robot was still standing.

"Ha! You tried that attack again, and once again, it didn't work." Nega taunted.

"Remember what I did with the attack last time?" Jason asked.

Nega was confused for a moment, then he remembered. He checked his armor levels, and they had stopped increasing. Jason had done it again.

"I'll kill you for that!" Nega yelled.

The robot grabbed Jason before he even had time to move. He bashed Jason in the head to knock him out, then he tossed him a long way into the ocean. Because Jason was knocked out, he couldn't wake up in time to prevent himself from drowning. As Jason died, his earth powers left him and transferred to Axel, who was at his home. Axel knew immediately that his father had died.

"That's the end of that meddlesome pest." Nega said.

Tobias and Thomas couldn't believe it. Nega had just killed their friend.

"You'll pay for that. YOU'LL PAY!" Thomas yelled as he brought out an even larger Aqua Sword and charged at Nega. He was determined to avenge Jason's death. He jumped up to the cockpit and slashed the head, cracking the glass. He didn't stop there. He grabbed Nega by the collar and put his sword to his neck.

"Any last words, Nega?" Thomas asked.

"Yes. Look behind you." Nega replied.

Thomas did so, only to be grabbed by one of the robot's hands and thrown out into the distance. The robot then fired a missile aimed right for him. The missile reached his position and exploded, taking Thomas with it. The only thing that survived was the water cannon that Thomas always used. It landed right near Basil, who was hiding from Nega.

"No. D…Dad. He can't be…" Basil said, a couple of tears in his eyes. He dropped to his knees, knowing he couldn't do anything more.

Back at the battle site, Tobias had become enraged at this. His two best friends had just died.

"Okay, now I'm mad." Tobias said.

"Allow me to push you to your limit. Say goodbye to your son." Nega said in a cruel tone before aiming a laser beam right at Armand, who was knocked down by the force of the missile's explosion.

"NO!" Tobias yelled, but the laser beam had already fired.

Armand covered his eyes, waiting for the beam to hit. He felt the shockwave of the beam, but he wasn't dead. He uncovered his eyes, only to see that Alicia had taken the whole beam and was lying on the ground. Tobias happened to be looking that way.

"ALICIA!" Tobias called as he ran over to her. He managed to turn her over onto her back, only to see burn marks from the laser. Alicia managed to open her eyes.

"T…Tobias, is…our son…alright?" Alicia asked in a weak tone.

"Yes. He is." Tobias told her. Alicia gave a weak smile before coughing up some blood.

"That's…good." Alicia replied. Her life was almost gone. "I…love…you…Tobias…"

Those were her last words as she let her life go. Tobias was distraught. Alicia had given her life to save her son. Tobias laid her body down.

"Rest in peace, Alicia." Tobias said before turning to Armand. "Armand, I want you to go hide. Don't come out until this is over."

Armand just nodded and did what his father told him. Tobias turned to Nega.

"You…you monster." Tobias said.

"Oh, shut up and go eat some cereal. You know, there's a new brand called Frosted Flakes. I hear that they have a grr-EAT tiger on the box." Nega said. "Oh wait. That's you."

That did it.

"You killed my friends, you killed my wife, you scared my son and his friends, you terrorized the planet, and now you relate me to some…cereal mascot? YOU DIE TODAY!" Tobias yelled.

Tobias's energy started to overtake him. He started to change from purple to a slight red color, his eyes went from green to fully orange, as if in a trance, and his power increased big time. For the first time in years, Nega actually felt a small trace of fear.

"What…have I done?" Nega asked.

"You…you've unleashed the hidden power of the Berserker's Rage within me. Now you're gonna regret it." Tobias told him.

Tobias then let out a deafening roar that shook the whole city. Birds that were in trees scattered, people on the streets on the edges of the city took cover, and animals located around the city ran off. Nega uncovered his ears so he could concentrate on the battle.

Tobias struck first. He started firing multiple lasers, which had increased power due to Berserker's Rage. Nega could feel the robot taking damage from the power. Tobias then pulled off one of his best moves. He slashed five times to form a star shape, then fired a charged laser blast in the middle, causing the whole star to head towards the robot.

"LASER SWORD STAR!" Tobias called just before the attack launched.

The laser star hit full force, leaving a star-shaped mark on the robot. Tobias then charged up his best move.

"MEGA LASER!" Tobias called.

The laser charge fired out in a huge beam. The attack was more powerful in Tobias's current form than it was in normal form. The blast hit the robot directly, causing a large dent in the armor. He then jumped up to the dent, reared back, and let loose with a powerful punch that made a hole in the robot, revealing some of the circuitry. Tobias then fired a few laser beams right into the hole, causing a major blowout. The robot started to explode. When the smoke cleared, Nega was still alive, and he was in a smaller robot that had obviously been hidden inside the big one. Tobias couldn't believe it. He wanted to exit out of his rage, but couldn't. Then he heard his wife, Alicia, calling to him.

"Tobias, calm down. I know you want to kill him, but don't kill him like that." Alicia said in Tobias's mind. After that, Tobias calmed down, and reverted to normal. He then walked up to Nega.

"It's time for you to die." Tobias said, aiming his laser at Nega.

"On the contrary. It's time for YOU to die." Nega told him.

Tobias was confused, but then he saw what was coming. A large claw appeared from the front of the smaller robot, grabbed Tobias, and slammed him down into the ground. The resulting impact knocked the wind, as well as some of the strength, out of him. Nega then charged up a laser that hit Tobias, draining the rest of the energy out of him, then he threw the tiger onto the ground. Tobias couldn't get up; he had used up all of his energy. Nega, in his robot, walked up to Tobias.

"So, my hated enemy, had enough for one lifetime?" Nega asked.

"You…will never…win. You…will…be stopped." Tobias told him.

"We'll just see about that. Now DIE!"

With that word, Nega shot a piercing laser through Tobias's chest, then flew off. Armand came out of hiding and ran to his dying father.

"Daddy, don't go! You can't die!" Armand pleaded.

"I'm…sorry, Armand." Tobias replied weakly. "I can't…go on. It's…over."

"Dad, no." Armand said, tears filling up his eyes.

"Listen to me, son. Take…my communicator, scanner…and laser watch. Learn to use them well. Tell Zeus, Mintra, and Hurricane, and team up with…Axel and Basil…and defeat…Nega. Please…do this…for…me…"

Tobias could say no more. He let out his last breath and died.

"Dad? No. No! NO!" Armand yelled, though it was no use. He let a few tears drop before looking at the items his father left him. He picked them up and looked in the direction Nega flew off in.

"Dad protected this planet with his life. Now he wants me to do the same." Armand said to himself. "Nega, next time we meet, prepare for one of the worst losses you've ever seen."

Armand then walked off to the only one still in the city that he knew. It was Axel's mother, Sophia. Axel had told her what had happened to Jason, but she didn't yet know about Tobias until Armand came to her.

"Armand, what's wrong?" Sophia asked.

"Daddy…died. Nega…killed him." Armand told her.

"What? Oh my god. I need to let Zeus know about this right away."

Sophia picked up the phone and dialed the number of the hotel that Team Legendary, Accel, and Mech were staying in. The operator answered, and Sophia asked to be put through to Zeus. The operator complied, and Sophia heard Zeus's voice.

"Hello? Who is it?" Zeus asked from the other line.

"Zeus, this is Sophia. You and the others need to come back to the city." Sophia said.

"What? Why?" Zeus asked.

"Tobias…is dead."

"What? NO! You can't be serious."

"I am serious. Tobias, Thomas, Jason, even Alicia. They're all dead. Killed by Nega."

"This can't be. Alright, we'll be home in a few hours." Zeus said on the other line.

Over where Zeus and the others were, Zeus hung up. He then turned to the others with a distraught face.

"Guys, we need to get back to Station Square. Nega launched an attack on the city." Zeus told them.

"Can't Tobias handle it?" Accel asked.

"No. The attack is over. Tobias is dead!"

That piece of news hit them all hard. None of them could believe it. They quickly packed up, checked out, and were back at Station Square within a couple of hours. Sophia and the kids were waiting for them. By this time, everyone in the city had heard that the legendary hero Tobias had died. Sophia told the others what the kids had told her, which was the exact truth.

A couple of days later, there was a hero's burial for Tobias. Everyone in the city attended, and those who weren't in the city had a long moment of silence for the hero everyone had come to know.

The legendary hero Tobias…was no more.

End of Chapter 8.

Heroes will always be remembered, no matter how much time passes between that hero's life and…whenever. Tobias is one of them.

Well, this was a tragic chapter, but in the next chapter, Nega suffers one of his most humiliating defeats yet.

Read and Review. Only two chapters left.