AN: *groans* This chapter took me WAY to much thinking to write!
Sen: Yeah, considering you don't think much to begin with.
Syaoron: What? Shut up! This is my longest fight scene... of all time! (I own nothing that isn't mine.)
Egg Fortress, Floor 1
February-24-3457
14:29 Mobius Time
The young rabbit bustled back and forth, from wounded to wounded. Every time, she would kneel and will the cells to regrow, sealing up the injuries of the soldiers. Now and again she would have to reset a bone or joint, in which case, a snap or pop would be heard, signifying the placement of the limb.
"Olivia!" The twelve year old rabbit called, beckoning a grey dove over to her. "Hand me that wet cloth."
The dove nodded and handed over a cloth that was dampened with water. The doe dabbed her forehead, removing some sweat and cooling her off. "Thank you, Olivia." She told the dove and handed the rag back to her.
"No problem, Cream." Olivia responded as she went to tend to the other soldiers. Cream then went on to one of the other soldiers.
She couldn't see his face, as it was hidden by a helmet. "Sir," she said to get the soldier's attention. He twitched his head in her direction and nodded. "I'm going to need you to remove your helmet so I can check for injuries."
The soldier smirked and took off his helmet, revealing the face of a pale white echidna. Cream gasped slightly, surprised to see him. "Captain Zednanref!" She shouted, shocked to see him. "I thought you were still being treated for trauma."
Zednanref smiled meekly and squinted. "Well, I still am… by their records." He responded. Cream just rolled her eyes.
As she tended to his wounds, she smirked. "Hey, Alex." She addressed him. "Out of curiosity, how old are you?"
"I'm fifteen. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?"
Cream giggled slightly. "For a captain, you're pretty young." She mused while sticking her tongue out at him. "But, that's beside the point. Maybe we could go out once this whole war is over?"
Alex just looked at her with a blank stare. "Are you… asking me out?"
She shrugged. "Well, if that's what you want to call it, then yes."
SCORE! Alex thought to himself, though he kept his thoughts well under wrap. "Sure, I don't have a problem with that."
Cream smiled at the acceptance and hugged him. He blushed slightly, but smiled after and hugged her back. They shared this tender moment before they felt… something. A sense of foreboding, perhaps? Whatever it was, it made the fur on their spine stand straight up. They gave each other a look of concern and nodded toward one another. Cream stood up and shouted, "We have to clear out of this base!"
None questioned, and they followed obediently. Those who were incapable of standing were carried out by their peers. Cream gave one last look of concern in the compounds direction before moving out with the troops.
Good luck, guys… come back alive, she thought while giving them a silent prayer.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
"Keep you in the dark; you know they all pretend…"-The Pretender by: Foo Fighters
…Syaoron the Fox presents…
…The Third in the Series…
The Mobius Code
Tribulations
Chapter 12
Two Sides of the Same Coin
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Egg Fortress, Floor 7
February-24-3457
14:36 Mobius Time
The doors of the elevator slowly slid open, leaving them all in anticipation for their one final conflict with Eggman. They say that history is written by victor. Some history was going to be written today, be there bloodshed or not.
As the sliding doors finally parted, they saw the control room. Eggman sat in at a chair in front of a desk at the end of the room which was full of operating equipment. The room was dark, besides a light that shined upon the elevator entrance and Eggmans desk. He swiveled his chair around and smirked at them.
"It's been a long time since we last met face to face, Sonic." The rotund scientist mused. His expression remained stoic, and void of emotion.
"Cut the banter, doc." The blue hedgehog replied, swiping his hand at the idea. "This is the day that you finally go down for good!"
Eggman then narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry you have to see it that way." He muttered while pushing a button. Four more lights turned on, revealing the Neo Mecha copies of Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails. A bit of buzzing was heard and their eyes blinked on, giving them a red color. They lifted their heads slowly and stared at whom they were copied from.
Their flesh and blood counterparts smirked and prepared for the inevitable battle to come. Rouge, Cosmo, Amy, and Alexa stepped forward. "Do you really think we're going to let you face them alone?" Cosmo muttered. Tails looked back at her and smirked.
"Aren't I glad that you came back?" He told her, while they faced the robots.
Shadow stepped forward with a grin plastered to his face. "Why don't we move this plane of battle to a less restricted field, doctor?" He suggested, to which Eggman only nodded. Shadow pulled out a green chaos emerald and it began glowing intensely. "CHAOS CONTROL!" he shouted, causing them to disappear in a blip of light.
A ways off, at the top of the canyon, they reappeared, ready for battle. They rushed into battle head on, with thoughts of victory in mind.
Shane and his company were about to follow before a pale figure in black dress stopped them. Soul the bat wagged his finger mockingly. "I think it would be very disrespectful to interrupt them, no?" He said while preparing to fight them.
They got into their battle stances, looking at the white bat as if he was crazy. "Do you really think you can take on all of us?" Shane questioned. To his surprise, the white bat shook his head.
He then cackled deeply, staring at them with black eyes. "No…" He began a frightening transformation, his body turning to bluish-grey crystal and his feet completely disappeared, leaving him to levitate. "But, I believe thirteen of me can kill you!" He shouted climactically as his body split into thirteen beings. They each had the same figure as the original, making it impossible to tell them apart.
It was going to be a long day.
The Soul copies rushed forward, attempting to get the upper hand. They came in fast, almost too fast for them to react towards. Using the skills they trained and developed, they dodged the incoming copies and reacted, each with their own unique counter attack.
Shane held out his hand, making it shimmer with pale blue energy as he developed a miniature snow storm. The Soul copies shuddered and put their hands up in front of their faces; a fatal mistake to say the least.
Gary had dashed into them, performing his father's famous spin dash with ease. The copies merely shrugged it off and went back into their battle formation. Blocks and blows were exchanged between the two teams, neither seeming to give any leeway to the opposing. One copy, deciding he could be smart, snuck around them and tip-toed towards Sapphire, who seemed intent on staying out of the action.
By hapless chance, she turned around and saw him, sending her into a frenzy of panic. Stream, hearing her plea, dashed to her assistance, slicing the copy with his swords. He saw blood gush from the copy and smirked. It was only when the gash closed and it stood back up that Stream let his guard down. It stretched its muzzle giving the appearance of a grin and sped forward, giving a devastating blow to the neck, sending him spiraling into the ground, unconscious.
Seeing her savior beaten to the ground with no effort caused Sapphire to stop breathing for a moment. She stared at his motionless body and began to tear up. She was too distracted to see the strike at her neck coming and she dropped to the ground in much the same way.
Karen had chaos controlled a Calico M961A submachine gun into her hands. She loaded the helical magazine into the top and began unloading them at Soul. She knew he couldn't die, but that didn't mean she couldn't make him bleed as much as possible.
The clone she fired at was reeling as it was stuffed full of lead. She knew it would just heal up, but she kept firing, taking her revenge out on this target. She was beginning to run out of ammo, so she dashed back with Shane and pulled a Sterling L2A3 out of nowhere, continuing to fire upon the clones with 9mm Parabellum.
"I don't understand!" Sam shouted as he discharged more electricity, shocking some of the copies. They twitched with the electricity but shrugged off the damage. "How is it that our attacks have no effect?"
He sent out another burst of devastating lightning, causing a small kinetic explosion and a bright burst of light. Dust was flung and they closed their eyes at the sight. When he reopened his eyes, the clone he had attacked wasn't damaged at all.
He groaned as he kept trying to attack, though tiring as it was. He wasn't able to see the clone sneaking up from behind… until Melodi elbowed it in the back of the head. She then picked it up before it could recover and threw it across the battle field, into some other clones. "This is the part where I say 'I've got your back'." She told him while he only smirked.
"What do you want from me, a 'thank you'?" He asked her. His senses came back to him at that moment and he dodged an incoming ball of dark energy. The area behind him was left in a small smoldering pit in wake of the energy ball.
A change in the density of the air alerted him to another sphere of energy and he pulled a matrix, bending backward and letting the ball pass over him by a mere inch. He stood back up and glared at the clone who had lobbed the orb at him. It was preparing another sphere, which Sam prepared to counter with an orb of yellow crackling lightning.
The both fired their energy bombs, creating a large explosion and clearing the area. Sam couldn't react in time and was caught in the blast. He was knocked off of his feet and put on the ground, leaving scathes and burns all over his body. His vision blurred as he tied to stand, but his body refused to allow. He just sat there and saw the clone standing, glaring at him.
He tried to crawl into a standing position but the clone stamped on his hand, resulting in a yelp. The clone picked him up and slammed him into the ground, finishing with a fist to the gut, resulting in a small crater. Sam coughed up blood before his eyes rolled back into his head.
Ana noticed his demise and glared at the clone that had put her energetic ally down. She reached for her hip holster and drew six needles, each held between two fingers. They had this stare down before she began throwing needles at it. The clone merely dodged the first six needles.
She smirked and began drawing more needles at a quickening pace. The clone expertly dodged the needles, countering with small beams of black and purple energy. She was unlucky enough to be caught in one of the concussive blasts and was blown away. She landed in the dirt wearily before she passed out.
The battle was quickly going downhill, but they continued to wipe the blood off their chins, getting on with the fight. Before long, only Shane, Coral, Durin, Violet, Gary, Sen, Karen, and Renna were left standing. They stood, baffled by their opponents ability to get right back up after severe thrashings, only to taunt them.
"Coral, prepare that move." He whispered to the seal and she nodded. The others looked at her while she raised her hands. The ground began to rumble and the clones looked around, trying to identify the source of the tremor.
When they realized what it was, it was too late. A torrent of water streamed from seemingly nowhere, swamping them in the fluid. They flowed with the current, disoriented by the massive amount of water
Taking this as his cue, Shane jumped high into the air and crossed his arms over his chest. He began floating and was surrounded by pale blue energy. His eyes flashed white for a second while he began gathering up energy in his hands. "ICE BEAM!" He shouted, shooting down a ray of white. The entire torrent of water froze in place, along with the clones inside.
He dropped back to the ground, landing gracefully, but stumbling afterward. He sat on the icy field, exhausted from using his best attack. Still, it was worth it, He thought while sitting. "Great job, Coral." He complemented her. Their combination attack had been executed perfectly.
In the distance, beyond where the icy field covered, he could see the Neo robots clashing with Tails and the others. It looked fairly evenly matched from where he could tell, but he wasn't all too sure.
They had finally beaten him. The one enemy that would take over after Eggman; the one they had been fighting for so long was finally gone. "Amazing job, guys." He commended them. "He's finally go-"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
Shane paused at the sound of that cold voice. He turned around and saw him standing, as if he wasn't even hit by the attack. "B-but, I-I…" the arctic fox stuttered, absolutely shocked by his appearance. He stood without a scratch on him.
"I'm immortal, pitiful fox." Soul blatantly put it for him. He floated toward him, all his crystal features evident. They were frozen with fear as he stood right in front of Shane. They stared for a few seconds, neither saying a word.
The grey crystal bat lifted his hand and backhanded Shane. He took the full brunt of the attack, flying back several feet in agony. "SHANE!" Coral shouted while running over to him. She knelt at his side while he clutched his head in pain.
He spat blood out and stood again, only to be shot with a blast of energy. He tumbled back a couple feet and slid on the ice, tainting the ice with his red blood.
Violet came to his aid quickly. She snaked in a couple of steeled punches, confusing Soul. After her short combination, she flipped into the air and slammed her heel into the back of his head. The crystal demon bat face planted in the ground, but didn't bleed.
After a few seconds of silence, he simply stood back up. "But, nothing could withstand a kick like that!" She shouted, obviously surprised by his standing. It appeared that he had no injuries at all, since the beginning of the battle.
"Is it so hard to ingrain into your mortal brain that I am invincible?" He mocked, chuckling all the while. He rushed toward her and knocked her on her back. He then took the three middle fingers of his right hand and placed them on her forehead. They glowed purple and she arched her back, pained from the black magic.
After a minute of this intense torture, her mind shut off, and she was left comatose. He walked over her limp body, amused by her pain. He took one last look at her body before turning toward the injured Shane once more.
"Why do you surround yourself with these idiot weaklings, Syaoron?" Soul asked him. The arctic fox looked back at him with a glare.
"They're not idiots!" He yelled at him through bloody teeth and clogged lungs. "They're my best friends, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise!"
Soul just looked at him and shook his head. "What a pity…" He muttered while gathering dark energy in his left hand. It started to take form over his hand as a swirling sphere of black and purple.
"To think that I would've even considered asking you to join me." He mumbled while taking deliberate steps toward him. He took one last lunge, prepared to plunge the energy into his heart, until one being stood in his path.
Gary had withdrawn his katana and diverted Soul's arm off of its original trajectory, keeping it out of harm's way. Soul winced as he felt the katana stab right through his hand. He kneeled, his bleeding hand pinned to the floor and glaring at the purple hedgehog in front of him. Gary tugged the blade out of his hand and the crystal bat stumbled back. Blood dripped from his hand and he looked at it in surprise.
"What did you do?" he muttered in surprise. The gap through his hand wasn't healing, like it normally should've done. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" He screamed at Gary, who kept his composure.
He tried looking at the katana. It was nothing special, but something about his enemy had to be. He then noticed his grey eyes and gritted his teeth. He'd never imagined he'd be facing someone such as him. "You have God's power, don't you boy?" He muttered.
Gary only nodded, looking at the cross that was permanently engraved in the back of his right hand. "I owe everything to The Lord."
"Like what?" Soul mocked, while tending to his hand. "What did the oh-so-powerful God do for you?"
Gary jut smirked. He pulled off his white undershirt and showed his chest. There was a blinking blue dot on his chest and a blinking red dot on each shoulder. He then moved aside his blonde hair to show a blinking white dot on his forehead. "He brought me back to life." He argued. "But, you wouldn't know anything about life, would you?"
Soul continued to grit his teeth. "You are more impressive than you let other people know, boy."
Shane stared up at his friend from the ground, continuing to bleed, even when he had incased his wound in ice. "Gary…" he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. "Don't do it. You don't have t-"
"Yes, I do Shane." Gary cut him off. He then sheathed his katana and crossed his hands over his chest. He began glowing with a white aura and his eyes lost their color.
Soul smirked and took this as a chance to attack. He rushed forward and lunged forward for a kick, but was dispelled by a shield of white. He was puzzled by the shield before he attempted making more strikes at the bubble shield, unable to break it. He then charged up a ball of black and purple energy and unleashed it at the shield, sending hundreds of rapidly firing dark energy beams at the shield, yet it still held together.
"Renna." He spoke in an echoic voice. The orange fox perked up at his calling. "Hold him down for me, would you?"
She nodded and let her eyes glow green. She then sent out a psychokinetic wave and forced Soul on his back. She then put her hands on the ground and they began glowing green, signifying that she had him in her grasp.
She felt him fight against it, but she continued to hold fast, keeping him under her control.
Gary smiled and began to prepare for his final attack. He began to float in the air and a hazy white liquid began coming from the blinking dots on his body. Eventually he was surrounded in a bubble of the hazy liquid.
He reached his hand forward and a claw made from the liquid reached out and grabbed Soul. He felt a stinging sensation from the liquid, and could only imagine the pain he would feel in the bubble. He tried to grasp at the dirt, but he only left small marks as he was pulled into the bubble. He tried ignoring the sensation as he floated directly in front of Gary.
He found that he was incapable movement in the bubble and was completely victim to whatever Gary and in store for him. Gary then reached toward him with both hands and he put them on Soul's chest and forehead.
His body then began dissipating into light and he transformed into a bubble of floating light. It burned Soul to look at the light apparition as he remained trapped in the bubble. The light then floated to his heart and he let out an ear splitting scream of pure pain.
There was a hole of light in his heart that caused him this agony and the hazy liquid began draining into Soul body through the hole of light. He felt as if he was being stabbed constantly in his body as the liquid continued to drain into his body.
After the entire bubble had disappeared into his body, he fell to the ground. Shane and Coral looked at him, wondering if he was finally finished; if he had finally died.
Their hopes were crushed as Soul began standing up again. He laughed psychotically as he stared at them with eyes of insanity. "What did your little friend think he could do by killing himself?" He shouted while cackling.
All of a sudden, he stopped cackling and his eyes widened in fear. His irises were flashing between black and grey and he emitted another ear shattering scream. He clutched at his head and fell to his knees, wondering what the sudden pain was.
He was emitting a black fog from his body as he continued to cry out in anguish. The crystals on his body began cracking and eventually broke off. After a mass of black fog equivalent to the size of his body left him, he fell to the ground and the fog began to shine with a white light from the inside. The black fog slowly purified into white fog and Gary appeared inside of the cloud.
Shane gasped at his coming as he bit back tears. "But, Gary… I thought you said your…"
"Yes, Shane." Gary cut him off. "My exorcism technique is fatal to me, but it is a little cost, knowing that he is finally gone.
"He was a demon from the very beginning." He continued to explain while looking down at his body. "It's sad that he can't live with a non-demonic spirit, but he was too far gone. At least he will be given a fair trial by God, and the words of the devil no longer plague his mind."
Renna was on the verge of tears as well. She walked up to his foggy figure and felt him hand. It felt real enough and she gripped him in a hug. "Please… PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" She shouted, letting her tears flow freely.
Gary hugged her back as she completely broke down. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Renna." He told her. She just continued to hug him. He suddenly became completely transparent and she fell right through him. She just bawled there as Gary's figure completely disappeared from reality.
After the tears completely left her eyes, she crawled and stumbled into a standing position. She took one last look at the fog before it disappeared. She then shifted her vision to Soul's empty corpse and narrowed her eyes.
She walked over to his body, continuing to stare at it in silence. It was his fault that he was gone. Karen walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. The orange fox almost immediately dived in her and hugged her, crying her eyes into Karen's shoulder.
Karen looked back over to Shane with concern in her eyes. "Hey, Shane." He called out to him. He swished his head around toward her. "Let's go care for the others."
He nodded and clenched his fist. He began to envision victory; the feeling of triumph. Your sacrifice will not be in vain, Gary, He thought. We will win.