At last, another chapter for this story done. On the second to last chapter we finally get to see some real action. This has been in the works since January, with a great amount of process that I was almost confident I would have it up by at least the beginning of February. Man time flies...

The last chapter gave me more difficulty, reasons as to why I already explained.

Anyway; have at it, enjoy, R&R - all that good stuff.

Theme 6: Final Intervention

His eyes struggled to open, with a hazy view of the auburn sky above him. Heavy and rugged breaths took place, enduring the various cuts and wounds all over his body. Faintly, he heard robotic footsteps heading his way, forcing him to pull himself upright to continue the battle. And he did so, but with much difficulty.

It stood before him. Jet black metal with its hollow eyes outlined in yellow. It merely stood there, watching him, a bleak expression resting upon his form. He was able to do some damage – at least – as the machine had – although hardly visible – scratches all over its surface. The chameleon positioned into another stance, awaiting for his rival to attack.

It lashed at him, and the detective barely managed to dodge its metallic claws. Rising from the sidestep, Espio, as swiftly as he could, made a roundhouse kick, only for the robot to promptly catch his foot. Before Espio could retaliate he was flung back a few distances, however he was able to land on his feet, crouching on one knee as he skidded backwards. He rose again, but not in time to defend himself from a jab to the stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He grabbed the metallic wrist of the Metal Sonic counterfeit with both hands, however the robot used this to its advantage and simply raised its arm, taking the chameleon with it.

Espio was violently tossed across the field, rolling onto his stomach after a rough landing. He heard the robot approach and meagerly looked up to face it… only to be greeted with dirt in his eyes. After kicking the dirt in its opponent's eyes, the metal foot struck his chest, commencing a grunt from the chameleon as he cringed and curled slightly.

"ESPIO!" came a shriek above him. He looked up, where he saw a flash of turquoise tear through the dark sky. Even the robot took a moment to glance up at the clouds.

In the sky with the hedgehog was the Ifrit, which was hot on his tail. He twisted and turned as he shot through the skies, making loops as if to try and throw off the beast. "Don't give up!" he called from above, right before he shot past them, the Ifrit not far behind.

While Espio was handling Eggman Nega's Metal Sonic copy, Silver took on the Ifrit, which – to their surprise – was a large beast with the features of a dragon, its tail and wings made of flames. Since for the most part he was out of the monster's grasp, it spat fire at him, which Silver smoothly waved around. The hedgehog himself was a bit worse for wear, but not nearly as bashed up as his struggling partner.

As he flew through the air, Silver had turned onto his back to see the Ifrit trailing behind him. He remained in that position as he simply watched it chase after him, before turning his head to see what was to come up ahead. There was Eggman Nega in his round contraption, who – upon seeing Silver drawing closer – shot fourth away from him. Baring his teeth, Silver turned over to his original position and gave full chase.

Eggman Nega watched him, and the Ifrit within the back. He fired several missiles at the hedgehog, hoping to slow him down. But the attempt ended in vain when the missiles were all caught within the force field surrounding the hedgehog. Growling in frustration, Eggman Nega slammed his fist onto one of the buttons, having two sets of mechanical arms appear on the vehicle. Two beneath that are a pair of grappling claws, and two on top with razor-sharp blades. Each arm came after him, the grabbing claws launching forth – one after the other – to either grab the silvery pest or at last throw him off, while the spinning blades swooped in to go for the blow. Silver swayed through the barrage of attacks Eggman Nega threw at him, which infuriated the scientist even more. Finally, his patience wearing thin, Nega pushed the controls forth, having all four arms reach for the hedgehog at once, with each end surrounding him.

Silver repeatedly twisted and turned to dodge each of the arms, but it became more difficult as they each came from different angles, one behind the other with much frequency. Finally, they all came at him at once, leaving only a small gap between them as they reached for him. Silver – as fast as he could – dove through the gap, nearly getting caught by each hand. Luckily, he was only left a small cut on his left cheek, one of which he hardly felt.

However, most of the missiles that were caught in his aura had exploded, which was – miraculously – enough to stun the mobile, as it shook violently in place. Eggman Nega slammed on the controls, exclaiming a barrage of violent obscenities. Silver used this to his advantage, and took the time to aim properly at the inbound fire beast. From what he noted, it's weak spot was its head, where it seemed to have some sort of frail layers of rock.

And that was exactly where he made his shot.

The Ifrit made a loud cry as it began to fall from the sky rather slowly. When it made impact with the ground, however, a nearby ruined building collapsed upon it, burying the beast within a pile of rubble. With a satisfied grin, Silver began to make his may back towards land, tearing through the sky at high speeds, and away from a just now recovered – and furious, Eggman Nega.

Expelling blood from a rough cough, Espio rose again, taking another defensive stance – however meager it seemed. Metal Sonic 3.0 had its hands changed into blades, the chameleon withdrew a katana and took his stance. The robot continued its approach, stepping towards the ninja detective ever so slowly, as he only stood and waited for his opponent to strike first.

Finally Metal Sonic shot at him – or tried to fly past him – as it swung one of its blades. Holding the blade upright, and not a moment too late, Espio's blade halted the hungry steel that merely grazed past its metallic body. Swiftly on its heel, the robot turned around to come at him again, this time spinning with its arms extended like a cyclone of steel. He angled his blade in a diagonal position to fend against the furious blades, often shifting the sword between a horizontal or vertical position. Once the fury of attacks came to an end, the robot's blade merely pushed against the chameleon's sword.

The moment they remained in that position, Espio poured all of his remaining strength against the Metal Sonic copy, which wasn't proving to be very effective – as the robot hadn't moved an inch. He felt his strength would soon begin to leave him, but his fortitude had yet to wear thin, and with all his might, he pushed himself at his hardest. With the last of his strength, he had to keep up as much defense as possible, and not let the metal monstrosity prevail. The two of them came far too long to let it all end here. If there wasn't enough strength to fight back, then it should go towards putting up the best protection – anything to buy him a little time – to last longer.

A split second later he felt something tear across his back, and a warm substance streaming from its wake. A sharp pain aroused from the spot, amber eyes widened vastly as tan lips parted with a wordless cry. His opponent eased its weapon away from him before he sunk to one knee, dropping his katana once he did so. Before he could fall forward, he was grabbed by the shoulder and held upright by the robot.

Cold steel rested against his neck, and a soft gasp passed his lips.

"NOOOOO!"

Something turquoise shot past him, taking the robot with it, and leaving Espio to fall on the ground.

Silver stood before him, glaring down the robot that was knocked to the ground. He turned his head towards the chameleon. "Come on, Espio! Get up!" Soon after, the sound of rockets zipping through the sky reached his ears. He shot up into the air, swiping the chameleon from the ground to take with him, barely avoiding greeting with a large explosion.

"You blasted rodent! Just wait until I get my hands on you…" Eggman Nega screamed from a distance, slamming his fists on his controls furiously.

Gritting his teeth, his fangs clearly visible, Silver stared ahead towards a small dot that grew rapidly as it headed straight for him at full speed. He waited, with the chameleon in his arms, as the corpulent scientist slowly came to a stop some ways in front of them. The hedgehog's vicious snarl turned into a mocking grin as he came to realize something. The grey-haired man furrowed, seeing as confusion had mixed with his frustration. In his arms, the chameleon also seemed to have appeared perplexed as he gazed at him curiously.

Finally, the hedgehog spoke his mind. "You just did something unwise. Now you have scrap metal."

In turn, the scientist's lips curved into a wicked grin. "If that's what you think…"

His own baffled expression upon his muzzle, Silver gazed beneath him, along with Espio, only to see the large cloud of smoke from the explosion evaporating within the air… but nothing in its wake. The rotund man's grin only grew as the hedgehog seemed to have grown more confused as he couldn't find the robot in question. Espio's eyes narrowed at Eggman Nega's expression, a sinking feeling deep within him that the scientist had another trick up his sleeve.

Just when a loud gasp came from Silver, he tore his gaze from the scientist towards the hedgehog's pale muzzle. Amber eyes lit up with shock as his mouth hung opened with a soundless scream. As the chameleon's sight traveled behind the hedgehog, he nearly released a scream of his own…

There was Metal Sonic 3.0, that had sawed deeply into the hedgehog's back. Frozen in utter horror, the ninja detective watched his silvery companion's eyelids lower halfway as he slowly fell from the sky. His cyan aura dimmed substantially as he was slipping into insentience. Although his grip on the chameleon loosened only slight, he hadn't dropped him, even though his light drifting became a freefall towards the ground. The one thing the reptile did – the only thing he could do – was tighten his arms around the fallen hedgehog.

He shut his eyes tightly. Don't give up, Silver… Hang in there…

It was then when their fall suddenly came to a stop. He would have thought his prayers had been answered, had they not landed roughly on something… tough. Indubitably, he believed they hit the ground, but only his eyes were to prove him wrong…

They were still airborne, and now gliding amongst the clouds. Silver still laid unconscious in his arms, even as the chameleon groggily sat up to take a better look at their surroundings. On each side he saw the wings of flame rise and fall at a synchronized and steady pace. Upon hearing a loud cry, he felt a sharp gaze from above resting on him. Somehow, and perhaps miraculously, they landed atop the Ifrit's back.

Metal Sonic 3.0 landed far towards his right – where the Ifrit's long magmatic tail was seen swaying in the air. Ravenous blades at the ready with their owner in a deadly stance. Lifeless eyes rested on the chameleon, almost as if it simply proclaimed the end of their journey, and their life. To his left, above him, he stared into the gleam of the Ifrit's entirely white – although small – eyes. From afar, Eggman Nega watched intently, very pleased with the outcome by far – confirmed by his wicked grin. After gently placing Sliver down onto his back, Espio pulled himself to his feet, driven with will and rage. The motivation to maintain the progress they've made to this very moment, to see the world no longer jeopardized by a monstrous miscreant… and his beast, and… to protect Silver, was more than enough to act as his stamina.

As if he could no longer feel his wounds he got into position, his arched blade ready for the next battle to come.

The robot charged at him, as well as he lunged at the machine. Both adversaries swung at the same time as the met in the middle. Espio remained in his pose, only slightly sliding past the perilous robot.

Behind him a metallic arm soared in the air, only for it to fall towards the ground below.

He turned to his opponent very slowly, finding a one-armed robot standing before him, with only the shoulder still intact. The chameleon smirked, which no less faltered in a matter of seconds as he watched the robot's arm renew from its shoulder socket.

The nearby cackling came from the grey-haired scientist. "I say he's full of surprises, isn't he?"

Espio gazed up at the Ifrit to find it in the middle of a deep inhale. The air grew oppressively hot – hotter than it already was – as its mouth was beginning to illuminate a bright fiery orange. Expelling a sharp gasp Espio hurried over towards Silver, and hovered over him as the Ifrit released a long blast of fire. He lifted his head, and watched as the flames traveled far to the back. For moment Espio found himself relieved to be out of its path, but – just as he half expected – Metal Sonic 3.0 walked directly through the flames… unharmed.

He growled, quickly searching through his thoughts for a strategy as it slowly approached the two companions. Finally he stood, with his blade in hand, as he waited for the monstrosity to attack. At last it jumped at him, and at the very last moment, Espio swung the blade high…

CLING…

A thick air of silence hung over them, apart from the nearby crackling from the left over flames. Both opponents were frozen in attacking positions, each with their blades held over the other's head. From behind, ivory eyelids fluttered opened, for the hazy view of golden eyes to witness the scene before him. After a moment of coming to, a sharp inhale was made as he came to realization.

Shock and fear nearly seized his voice. "E-Espio…"

One arm lowered its weapon, before the owner dropped to his knees. After what felt like eternity, the body finally collapsed forward, with something rolling towards the hedgehog.

A head…

…the robot's head…

The hedgehog remained frozen in place as he stared into the black void where its eyes would have been. He stared up at the chameleon who had his sword in place keeping him upright. His breaths were jagged, and he looked as if he was ready to collapse. Silver struggled to stand, but eventually made it over to the chameleon.

As soon as Espio lifted his head, amber eyes met once more. Before any words could pass Silver's lips the reptilian ninja merely cut him off, his eyes gazing towards something above. "It's still not over…"

Silver followed his gaze into the Ifrit's hollow eyes. His ears – just then – picked up the sound of a hovercraft zipping by. Eggman Nega was flying beside them, giving them a look of pure anger and hatred as he growled through clenched teeth and a tightened fist resting beside the controls. The hedgehog stared at him dead in the eyes. His mien although much calmer, the look in his eyes expressed the same type of feelings.

If only looks could kill…

"The head is it's weak spot." he uttered suddenly, before taking one moment to glance at the chameleon's sword. "…That should do it."

Espio's gaze tore from the monster to his companion. With his back towards him, he was able to see the deep gash across his back.

He still bled… "But what about you?"

"I will deal with Eggman Nega." As Espio began to protest Silver turned around completely, once again locking eyes with the concerned reptile. "I still have enough strength to fight, and I believe in you… I believe in us." a small smile graced his crimson-stained muzzle. "We may have been outnumbered at first, but we certainly weren't outmatched. Even though we're both heavily injured and the numbers are even – if you want to call it that – we still aren't outmatched."

With a gloved hand he motioned towards the fuming scientist. "As of now, he's just a joke. The real battle is with the Ifrit, which I know in my heart we can surmount." his lips curved into a knowing smile. "We have this in the bag."

As his eyes still remained in his, Espio took note of something he saw long ago… before he and Silver actually teamed up. There was the spark of fortitude he remembered, still as strong as ever. However his eyes were no longer pleading him, but more so seeking to spark reassurance within him. He knew they could do it, and he needed Espio to feel the same way.

Almost instantly was he put at ease. Those eyes… they were always like some sort of enchanting charm. Whatever it is about them that makes them so… alluring… he couldn't tell. At least, not as of now.

But before anything else could be said or done, Silver shoved him aside and quickly stepped in front of him. Espio nearly fell as he stumbled back, puzzled as to what just happened and why, however caught himself as he saw just what it was Silver was doing. A shrine of turquoise surrounded him as his hand extended in front of him. He leaned slightly to the side to see whatever it was he caught – and found a barrage of missiles caught in his aura. Not too far ahead Eggman Nega was slamming his fists against his hovercraft as he swore loudly and viciously.

"You should know better, Eggman Nega." Silver spoke, a poisonous glare directed at him, especially as he spat his name. Looking back at Espio he shouted, "Now, Espio! Hurry!"

With a nod, Espio's attention returned to the Ifrit, which fired another blast of fire at him. He rolled forward, just barely dodging the flames behind him. The Ifrit, seeing as his breathing fire once again didn't work, immediately lunged its head at him with its mouth wide opened – apparently going to swallow the chameleon. As it came at him, Espio leaped high into the air. The Ifrit's gaze followed him and fired a fire ball at the soaring ninja, which he successfully dodged with a flip.

He landed atop the Ifrit's head, and raised his sword with its point facing downward…

BOOM…

The explosion from a missile that landed on the underside of the Ifrit's neck just behind him knocked him off the monster's head.

"NO!" Eggman Nega slammed the controls, growling furiously. "I missed him!" But upon no longer seeing the chameleon atop the Ifrit's head he was put slightly at ease… until he noted the Ifrit feverishly shaking its head. He began to worry that he damaged his own creation, that is, until he saw something purple hanging off one of its horns.

He was still on the Ifrit…

"Wait, Eggman Nega… You forgot something."

"Like wha—H-HUH?"

Silver floated before him with all of the missiles around him, each pointing directly at Eggman Nega. A crooked smile was apparent on his muzzle. "About time you get what was coming to you."

He quickly tried to recover from his shock, although failed seeing as he nearly tripped on his words with sweat streaming from his forehead. "N-now Silver, let's not get so hasty… Why don't we talk and settle this like sophisticated gentlemen, hm?"

"Yet, this is coming from the guy who started this whole mess in the first place… How do you miss the irony in that?" A more serious mien took hold of his muzzle. "Besides, I think we're far passed civilized manners at this point." He curved his body, before extending his arms and legs as he released all of the missiles at once. They each soared in different directions, and Eggman Nega cowered in his seat. However, he felt nothing make contact with his mobile, and began to search frantically for the missiles.

Behind him they flew off towards the distance, arousing a toothy smirk from the scientist.

Silver's smile, however, grew even wider. "Wait for it…"

Each of the missiles made a U turn and began to head straight for the grey-haired scientist at high speeds, much to his dismay. With an evil grin across his muzzle, the hedgehog waved at the scientist as he started to drift away. "Goodbye, Eggman Nega." He sped off, a chuckle escaping him as he tore through the skies.

"W-wait! Silver, come back!" But before he knew it, all of the missiles that were fired collided to his air mobile all at once. All that there was of the rotund scientist was an outsized and brilliant fiery explosion.

"NOOOOOOO!"

As Eggman Nega's scream was heard across the sky, Espio, clinging onto the Ifrit's arched horn as it tore through the air as it spun like a drill, was – both metaphorically and physically speaking – clinging onto dear life. By the time it stopped spinning raucously it was swinging it's head side to side. Espio had his arms wrapped around the monster's horn and, with his free hand, reached into his glove to pull out a kunai. He waited for the right moment to plunge it into the side of the Ifrit's neck.

It released another loud cry and held its head still, meanwhile Espio wasted no time in grabbing hold of the inserted kunai and releasing the Ifrit's horn with the arm that still had his katana. Swiftly, he swung his body up back atop the Ifrit's neck and quickly – yet carefully – balanced his way to the top of its head.

He held the blade high, point down, before jabbing the sword beneath him, deep within the Ifrit's "skull".

A long high-pitched shriek of agony came from the Ifrit as it whirled about irrepressibly, thus knocking Espio off once again, and the chameleon found himself freefalling from the sky. The Ifrit had begun to do as such itself as it did so in the far distance, its wings and tail curving – appearing to have gone limp – as it was falling towards its own doom. Upon watching the fiery beast's fall, his own fall had been suddenly interrupted as he fell into a pair of cyan-lit arms – much to his apparent surprise.

Inwardly he was debating if it was truly a pleasant surprise…

Silver brought them back onto the ground, with Eggman Nega crushed under his destroyed mobile and debris of a ruined building. Not far ahead was the portal, which had shrunken noticeably since before the battle. It looked as if it could close at any moment.

"Come on, let's hurry and get out of here!" exclaimed the hedgehog, grabbing the chameleon by the wrist as he was about to take off…

"WAIT! Don't leave me here like this!" the pair froze in place upon hearing the scientist's shriek. They turned around to fully face him, slowly but surely, and began to approach him. The rotund scientist's smile perked as he saw the two walking his direction. Their muzzles were stoned, though Nega didn't seem to pay any mind to that.

"Yes, that's it. My legs are caught beneath all this crap and I can't move. Help me out of here."

"Oh, we will." the chameleon spoke darkly, bringing the tip of his katana to rest against the scientist's large nose. "Because you're going straight to hell."

Eggman Nega's smile faltered almost immediately.

Silver extended his arm in front of his companion, having him move back. "Now Espio, let's not get so impulsive… Besides, I think we should help him."

"What?" Both the chameleon and scientist gaped at once. The astonishment was heavy in the man's tone as he spoke again. "You… you really think so?"

Espio lowered his weapon, his gaze completely focused on Silver. "Seriously?"

"He's right. We can't just leave him here like this…" the detective blinked in disbelief, as the scientist seemed surprised – although delighted as well – as to what he had just heard. Glowing in turquoise once more, Silver raised both of his hands and reeled back as if he was pulling something towards him.

The rubble on top of Eggman Nega hadn't come off…

However, a boulder dropped atop of the aircraft, thus crushing the machine completely and adding more weight to the rubble atop the scientist.

Eggman Nega let out a painful moan as a smile spread across Silver's muzzle. "That's better." Once again grabbing the wrist of the snorting chameleon, the pair began to race towards the closing portal. Silver used his telekinesis to fly towards the portal for a faster pace with the chameleon still in hand.

All that was heard as they blasted though the portal was the cry of Eggman Nega calling out to them.