Chapter 9: Ultimate
"Emerl?" Tails ventured, carefully edging closer to the golden droid. "Are you-"
Head snapping up to look at him, Emerl's engines triggered, launching him into the air. His arm swung forward, a crimson beam lancing out towards the two Mobians.
"Sonuva-" Shadow growled, warping the both of them out of the way.
"What the hell is he playing at!?"
"Finitevus stuck something into the port in the back of his head." Shadow replied. "Whatever it did, it's sent him berserk."
"Can this please stop getting worse?"
"We're going to have to subdue him..." The hedgehog mused. "If we manage that, then Nicole can connect with him and clean his systems out."
"Alright then..."
The Gizoid appeared over their heads, and dropped to the ground, slamming his fists towards the duo. They rolled aside, only to be knocked reeling by the resultant shockwave. His body enveloped itself in a crimson aura, and he curled himself up, blinding light ripping out him in a dome-shaped explosion.
Barely conscious after the Chaos Blast, the two laid unmoving, struggling for breath. Silently, the haywire robot looked between them, examining them with his central optic. He then turned, and began walking towards Shadow, his right arm sliding open, the hand pulling back, to allow a semi-circular blade to take its place.
As he drew near, however, his proximity alarms went off, and he pivoted at the waist, just in time to catch a missile and sling it back toward the source. Omega blasted into the air to dodge, as the other Freedom Fighters- who had arrived at the same time, scattered. The Gizoid raised his hands, energy crackling along his fingers, shooting upwards and splaying out into a barrage of Chaos Spears. He swept his arms forward, and the bolts rained down around him, striking at the assembled group.
"Whut in tarnation!?" Bunnie gasped.
"Emerl, what are you doing!?" Nicole cried out, forming a shield around herself and her friends.
"Guys, we've got to get Shadow and Tails out of there!" Rouge yelled above the noise.
"On it." Lightning replied, zipping out of the shield and snatching the fallen Adepts from where they lay, bringing them back to the relative safety of the dome.
"Nicole, can you try and reach Emerl with your powers?" Rotor asked. Still shaking, the artificial lynx pointed her hand towards him, green light flowing around her digits. Her eyes closed, as she mentally reached out to touch the Gizoid's mind, only to reel back, clutching her own head. "Nicole!"
"His... his processor is barely accessible. I almost got in, but... there was something else in there. I... I heard him screaming..."
"Screaming?"
"Whatever is happening to him, it's causing him terrible pain. That's what knocked me back out of there... I'll need to make a proper connection to get into his mind." Nicole elaborated, sitting herself up.
"Wait..." Amy said. "Where's Sonic?"
"He's not here..." Nicole said. "I have his signal, but he appears to still be with Iblis. Either he's been captured or they're still fighting."
"Either way, it's safe to say that the plan went wrong." Nic groaned. "Fi, how are the sleeping beauties?"
"They're waking up." Fiona replied. "Tails, can you hear me?"
"F-Fiona?"
"Oh, thank Chaos." She sighed, hugging him tightly, as Rouge and Omega helped Shadow to his feet.
"What happened?" Antoine asked.
"It was a trap." Shadow replied. "Iblis was a lot stronger than we thought. She took Tails out in seconds, and smacked Sonic around like it was nothing, Super or not. Finitevus also stuck something into Emerl's head. It's sent his power levels through the roof, but he's evidently lost control of those powers."
"What happened to Sonic?"
"Still fighting, last I saw."
"I hope he's okay..."
"If he starts to run out of juice, he'll warp back." Tails suggested, allowing Fiona to help him up.
"Okay, next question, what do we do about Emerl?"
"I can connect with him if you get me an opening." Nicole said.
"We'll keep him busy, then."
"Nic, I want you and Omega to keep your distance and provide covering fire. Lightning, stay back, I want you to pull anyone injured out of the fight." Tails commanded. "Fiona, stay with Lightning, patch everyone up when they need it. Nicole, position yourself as best you can for a clear shot at his head. Shadow, Bunnie, Rotor, you're with me, we're taking the fight to him as best we can. The rest of you... try to stay away unless it's absolutely necessary. If he's strong enough to put us down that quickly, then you don't have a chance..."
"I know it's got little meaning in this case... but... be careful."
"I will." He nodded. "Alright, Freedom Fighters... let's roll!"
Rotor's nanite armour formed around his body, as he and Bunnie took to the air. Tails, Nicole and Shadow vanished into the ether again, as Omega and Nic opened fire on the maddened droid. Spinning between the shots, he let loose a storm of energy from his chest cannon, cracking the shield and forcing the group to run for cover again. The cannon folded away, and he slammed himself into the ground again, making a beeline for Antoine and Amy. Gulping, both drew their weapons, and rolled to the side, as he unfolded his own hammer, in place of the blade.
"'Ow are we supposed to keep our distance, if 'e comes straight for us?"
"I don't know..." Amy bodily swung her weapon into the Gizoid's face. He rolled back, his mouthplate cracked, and retaliated. Normally, Amy would've had no trouble dodging such a strike, but in his unbridled state, he pivoted faster than she could register, and launched her into a nearby building. Still turning, he faced the coyote, and retracted the hammer, his rounded blade taking form again. They slashed at the same moment, sparks flying as the weapons slid over each other. The robot spun at the waist, using the momentum to launch a blindingly-fast swipe towards Antoine, as he took his sword in both hands, and blocked the strike. The blades rang off each other, staggering both of them, allowing the canine to put a little distance between them. He lunged, jabbing forward, but his opponent parried the blow, then cut him across the chest. Crimson light shone around the curved weapon, and Antoine felt his strength fail him immediately. He sagged to his knees, glaring up at the Gizoid, which was promptly knocked away by a heavy metal fist.
"Get offa him!" Bunnie yelled, charging after the reeling droid. Before Antoine could as much as thank her, Lightning was depositing him next to Amy, as Fiona inspected him.
"He took you down in one hit... but this wound isn't enough to do that..." She said.
"Tze blade was glowing, and it felt like all of ma strength 'ad left me..." He replied. "It must have energy-draining properties..."
"It's a Nocturnus leech blade." Nicole cut in, appearing beside them. "It does exactly what you'd expect- drains the vitality of the victim to boost the wielder. The second function doesn't work for robots, but I don't think Emerl is worried about that..."
"It's also bloody good at cutting things, this wound is really clean-cut..." Fiona mused. "Nevermind, I'll have you fixed up in a sec."
"Tzank you... 'Ow is Amy?"
"She took quite the blow to the head, she'll be sitting the next few missions out, I expect. So will you."
"I see... I just 'ope Bunnie can whether tze storm..."
Above them, Bunnie connected her metal arm with the Gizoid's neck, driving him into another building, her hand extending to crush the leech blade. Wordlessly, he ejected from his arm, replacing it with his hand, and lifted his knee towards her gut. She backed off in time to avoid having her stomach pierced by the edge of the fin at the top of his greave, but it still nicked her flesh slightly. Hissing with pain, she put her organic hand over the cut, and blasted him in the central optic with her arm cannon.
A metallic roar of pain echoed from the droid, hands flying to his forehead, as Bunnie began pumping more shots into his torso.
"Now, Niki-gal!" She shouted, a stone-grey copy of the lynx's form appearing from the building behind Emerl. Reaching out, she tried to drive her fingers into the port, but found the stump of the virus-drive embedded in it.
"Hang on, just a second.." She called. The lapine cyborg nodded, continuing to fire on the reeling android. Nicole's claws lengthened, thinning until they resembled tweezers, as she tried to free up the port. "Almost... almost... got it!"
Tugging the offending remains free, her opposite index and second fingers merged, forming a drive of their own. She lined herself up, but the Gizoid spun at his midriff again, hammer forming and tearing a gouge in the building, forcing Nicole to retreat as her temporary body was destroyed. As the spin stopped, he fired his chest cannon again. Flying back, Bunnie dropped under the beam, and opened fire again. Her shots bounced off of a crimson shield, as he pointed down, causing the beam from his core to curl under itself, racing back towards her. She flew closer, into melee range again, forcing him to warp away before he blasted himself again. She dodged it, and opened up a comm-channel to the others.
"Gahs, he don't lahke havin' his own attacks redirected at him. Hittin' the third optic hurts too."
"Noted." Nic's voice echoed back. "Trying to spot him now. I'll snipe it as soon as I get a shot..."
"Nic, behind you!" Shadow yelled.
Whirling around, Nic spotted her target, holding a rather large energy orb over his head. He pitched it towards her and Omega, who responded by grabbing Nic and flying away from the building they were using as a vantage point.
"Target possesses superior speed, agility, and firepower. Stationary sniping: Ill-advised."
"Don't hafta tell me twice, shiny." Nic sighed. Omega's other arm extended a gatling gun, and let loose a rapid volley of shots, ignoring the fact that what had just been their foothold was now a smoking ruin. Like Bunnie's cannon blasts before, the bullets bounced harmlessly off of his shield, and he responded with another energy beam, driving both GUN agents into the dirt. He dove after them, only to be intercepted by Rotor, taking a punch hard enough to shatter the remains of his mouthplate. To the walrus' surprise, the Gizoid expressed neither a sadistic smile or a bestial snarl, he simply maintained an emotionless, neutral look. His hand snapped out, fingers closing around his thick throat, Rotor responding with another bone-shattering punch. Unflinching, he jabbed his fingers into the armour's chest, causing it to explode into a cloud of nanites. He released the walrus, hurling him downwards, as the nanites began to reshape themselves. Shadow warped Rotor to safety, hurling two Chaos Spears at Emerl in the same motion. They exploded against his shield, leaving him unharmed, and able to finish his creation- a hail of metre-long, centimetre-thick metal arrows. He raised his hand, and clenched, sending them streaking towards the ground all around the nearby area.
The scores of shafts exploded into their constituent nanites, then reformed themselves into a thick tendril, which lashed up and coiled around his midriff, pinning his arms. Nicole appeared in front of him, eyes glowing brilliantly.
"This ends now..." She hissed, a second monochrome copy appearing behind him. She jabbed into the port, only for his head to spin, snapping her fingers. Wincing momentarily as she felt her second body's pain, the lynx faltered, allowing the Gizoid to shatter his prison. With his back to her, she disconnected her mind from the second body, and commanded it to latch onto him as she attempted the connecting herself. Both were thrown back, the red shield expanding out from his core in seconds. He whirled, and drove his fist through the stomach of her constructed body. She cried out, dissipating both bodies, as he swung his hands towards the team again. The tendril lurched, arcing over his head and absorbing the nanites that Nicole had previously occupied, surging towards them.
Something slashed across his back, cutting through the outer shell of his jetpack and damaging the systems within. It exploded, throwing the attacker away and sending him straight down into the dirt. The tendril collapsed, raining harmlessly down on the city, as he forced himself upright again, glaring up at the attacker. Tails stared back, before warping out of view. He rematerialised behind the Gizoid again, this time facing the scarlet barrier. Undaunted, he reached into his back, and planted a proximity mine below the shield's curvature, warping away as it exploded. While the barrier absorbed the damage, it did nothing to weaken the force, leaving the robot to be sent pinwheeling into the air, straight into the arc of an overhead axe kick from Shadow. He speared downwards, before being swatted back into the air by Tails. The two Mobians warped together, forming a roiling orb of Chaos between themselves, firing the combined attack at the droid. His chestplate opened once more, the cannon firing once again. The beams crashed together, neither giving an inch, until the gold robot thrust his hands forward and fired a pair of smaller beams straight at his foes.
Unable to dodge or defend, both fighters were stabbed through the shoulder by the attack. Their beam faltered, allowing the Gizoid's to push through, thundering between them. It curved around, looping back to strike the Mobians, leaving them to crash into the ground once more. Twisting again, it tore towards the exhausted group, the red glow filling their vision. A hexagonal lattice of energy appeared between them and the oncoming attack, supported by Bunnie and the restored Nicole. They strained, trying to hold themselves together as the Gizoid's shot poured onto their relatively paltry defence.
"Gahs... run!"
"Can't... hold it any longer!"
Once again, the Freedom Fighters scattered, as Nicole warped herself and Bunnie away and the beam tore the ground where they had stood apart. The Gizoid charged towards them, mimicking Sonic's speed, aiming his claws at anyone in his path. Sidestepping, Bunnie extended her nearer leg, tripping the robot and sending him rolling into Omega's legs. The larger robot smashed his open hand down onto him, holding him in place.
"Quickly, digital forest creature. Hack him." He said. Raising an eyebrow at his description, she nevertheless approached, trying to gain access to his head again. "Wait, stay back. Chaos Blast triggering!"
A small explosion threw Omega and Nicole back, as the Gizoid righted himself then surged forward into a spindash, shearing the huge gunner's right arm off in the process. He grabbed the severed limb, then stabbed its taloned end into his back. Omega stumbled, supporting himself on his good arm, turning his head to see his attacker open up again. This time, however, Shadow appeared behind him, and unloaded a Chaos Spear into his back. He spiralled away, scraping over the ground and carving a deep furrow.
"Why haven't you hacked him yet?" Shadow demanded, reaching for his inhibitor rings.
"Every time I get a good shot, he throws that shield up. You'll have to pierce it before I can make my move."
"Oh, I'll do that alright..." The ebon hedgehog snarled. The gold bracelets fell away, and a violent red aura exploded upwards around him. He vanished, reappearing over the unsteady Gizoid, and let loose a massive Chaos Blast, straight down.
The explosion stabbed into the ground, breaking it open and melting the nanites as he packed every last drop of his energy reserves into the attack. His aura faded, and he dropped to the ground, his inhibitors reappearing on his wrists.
"Agh... that hurt..." Nicole groaned.
"Did it work, though?" Rouge asked. For a few moments, they waited, watching the smoke billow up from the crater. Then, slowly, it faded, revealing the Gizoid's flickering, but still very-much-functional energy shield.
"No way..."
"Oh, we are so screwed..."
The Gizoid stalked over to the exhausted Shadow, reforming the hammer, and swung it into his temple, knocking him flat-out. He turned back towards the others, and continued walking, heading towards them.
"Well, there is some good news..." Rotor wheezed from where he lay. "He appears to be running low on energy. He probably needs a recharge and a repair, so he's focusing on incapacitating us all before dealing the death blows..."
"It must be taking a lot of energy to keep that shield up..."
"I have the feeling that he'll give up the ability to use his right arm before he lets that drop."
In a flash, Tails appeared in front of the group, facing Emerl. Bruised and battered from the punishing energy beam, he panted for breath, supporting himself with his namesakes.
"Tails, don't!" Fiona cried out. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"No... I know what I'm doing..." He said, colourless fire appearing around his hands again. The Gizoid's chestplate opened again, the cannon barrel extending forward, a low hum indicating that another shot was charging up. Taking a deep breath, the fox drew his arm back, then thrust it forward, the Chaos Lance stabbed forward. It clashed against the crimson shield, buckled for a moment, then burst through it, impaling him through the midsection. The barrier collapsed, as the robot finally sank to his knees.
Seizing her chance, Nicole warped forward, and finally connected to him. He jolted, trying to twist away from her, to no avail. His body seized up, then went limp, as Nicole formed her own barrier around them both, and Tails fell back into Fiona's arms.
"Now all we have to do is wait..."
***
For Nicole, bridging into her wayward friend's processor was a surreal experience. The world around her faded to white, her own body reshaping itself to resemble a purple Gizoid below the neck. Her captive seemed to fade from her arms, while below her, something took shape.
It was a city, a truly massive one, floating atop a huge black rock in an endless murky expanse. All of the buildings in the city were black or grey, with blue energy lines flowing everywhere. She descended, nearing the city, and as she did so, she realised that it was cracked in the middle, and beneath it seemed to be a brilliant crimson aura.
"This... must be Nocturne itself..." She mused. "And I'll bet that the lightshow is where I'll find his core..."
Diving down, she passed through the crevasse, dropping into the red-lit area below. To her surprise, but maybe not disappointment, here was nothing there but a white expanse and a glowing energy cage with Emerl trapped inside it. He was restrained, but squirmed against his bonds, screaming noiselessly all the while. He even seemed to be stopping for breath, oddly.
"Emerl..." She gasped. "Hold on, I'll have you out of there in a second." She rushed forward, but the cage glowed brightly, and a new shape grew upwards from it.
The newcomer looked almost identical to Emerl. However, its armour was black, its crest and accents golden, and it had red rings around its main optics. All three opened, glowing the same crimson as the Ultimate mode's had in the physical world. The metallic growl rumbled from within it, as a fiery aura exploded upwards, and it raced toward the lynx.
"Alright then... if that's how this is going to go..." She snarled, a glowing lance and shield forming in her hands.