Ivo was in a foul mood following his recent defeat at the hands of that group of boys. Three times now, they had bested his inventions, even after he'd made modifications to improve their performance. Three of the Chaos Rings he'd gathered were now in their hands, along with a fourth that they'd discovered and retrieved before he could.

'If only I'd beaten them to it,' he reflected regrettably, 'I'd have already won.'

Much as he hated to admit it, he could no longer dismiss their string of victories up to this point as flukes and fortunate circumstances. Most of their friends and allies had been liberated, which only added to the threat they posed. They'd also grown wise when it came to keeping the Rings separated, robbing him of the opportunity to snatch them all back in one fell swoop. That was what he understood from his most up-to-date surveillance, anyway, and if that was the case, then he really had to step up his game.

Even more so in light of recent events. While he was away at Marina Madness, Ivo had received an alert from the main base through the Egg Mobile about an intruder in the system's mainframe. What made it all the more concerning was the fact that the miscreant hadn't been identified, nor had the purpose of its data mining been determined, which meant one of two things. Either it had been solely digital and completely eliminated by his anti-hacking programs, or it had managed to defeat his measures and escape scott-free. He wanted to believe it was the former, but there was a nagging thought in the back of his mind that the latter had occurred.

When he'd briefly returned to check on things, he'd found nothing wrong with his supercomputer on the surface. Checking the metadata of the files, however, revealed that just about everything had been accessed within the past 12 hours. The only things left unmolested were his personal memos, with the exception of one that had disquieted him for a bit.

'Out of everything, that one caught their eye?' he'd wondered with exasperation, 'I hope G.U.N. aren't the ones that were poking around. The last thing I need right now is more trouble from that over-bloated organization shoving their noses into old wounds."

Much as he wanted to deal with this, there was still the matter of those boys mucking about. They'd no doubt make their way to the next attraction soon, and given their track record, it was likely they'd pick the one that their final friend was being held at. He needed to stop them before their group became as formidable as it was those few months ago.

But, even if worse came to worst, Ivo still had at least one contingency in place...

Meanwhile, the trio of Sonic and two of the Chaotix members, that being Espio and Charmy, made good time and arrived at the hub area on Carnival Island shortly after noon. Even though it had been more than a day since his rescue, the chameleon insisted that he was alright as far as rest and nourishment. It seemed that the stasis that those captured in those strange capsules had gone through had frozen them like statues.

In any event, they came to the map station, where only two of the attractions were still listed as available. The first, which was called "Amazing Arena" on the display, looked to be another indoor area like Botanic Base, albeit one that lacked any sort of plants or even windows. It was a very colorful mess of a place with mostly yellow and magenta with some blue, green, and orange details on springs, pipes, and strange light poles with flower-like tips. The second, known as "Techno Tower" according to the information, was composed of several tall structures around the center of Carnival Island, including the eponymous one that stood out above all the rest. Unlike the other Zone, they weren't given a good idea of what to expect inside, as the picture only showed a small area outside of the tower itself.

"Alright, just two more to go!" Sonic cheered excitedly as he pumped a fist, "which means it's a 50-50 chance where we end up next!"

Espio crossed his arms and nodded. "With luck, we will find Vector this time."

"Yeah," Charmy said, his muzzle turning up in a smirk, "I bet he's gonna be really mad once we bail him out."

The chameleon shut his eyes, humming contemplatively. "We just have to redirect his anger. That will be easy enough to do with Ivo and the Badniks present."

"And maybe he'll chill out after that," the hedgehog added with a chuckle, "at least, I always felt a little better whenever Tails and I smashed some Kukku clunkers."

Just as he'd done thrice before, Sonic slammed a fist into the Bumper and let the machine choose their next destination. After several seconds, it was decided that they would head to Amazing Arena, and soon after, the same rocket platform as always arrived to send them on their way. Once they got to the Zone itself, they saw that it was entirely enclosed in a tall and broad, chrome structure that vaguely reminded the trio of a sports stadium. And even though they'd been dropped near the front door, it took them a moment to pick it out from the rather plain exterior.

Inside, they saw that everything was pretty dark and dull in contrast to what the map had shown them. Only green and copper stood out, while the rest was as good as black and gray in the minimal light provided. Sonic was ready to make a joke about "false advertising" from Eggman, but he felt his quills stand up before he could. He wasn't afraid of the dark, but there was something about the stillness and silence around them that was a bit off putting.

"Hey, you guys feel kinda funny?" he asked the other two.

Espio tilted his head up and glanced around, as if searching for something. For an almost imperceptible instant, his eyes widened, but his stolid demeanor quickly returned, and he began to walk forward at a brisk pace.

"Espio?" Charmy called after him, "are you oka–"

"We are not alone," the chameleon cut him off, "and I am not merely referring to potential Badniks in the area, nor Dr. Robotnik."

That was what Sonic had been thinking; it felt like someone or something else was there, watching them. For him, that was enough to get moving as well, rushing by Espio and down the hall just past the entrance. Charmy took the hint as well, not that he had much choice when he was attached to the hedgehog by the Ring tether. Across a gap and down a slope, they spotted a switch on the wall next to a curious device shaped similarly to an old analog alarm clock, only without the bells and legs. As he was wont to do, Sonic wasted no time in Jumping and hitting it, which caused the nearby machine to whir to life.

In the next moment, everything else lit up, and the Zone now resembled the earlier image. And while no one said so aloud, each of them could tell that the sensation they felt just a few seconds ago had vanished. Putting that aside for now, the three backtracked to a shaft that was a few tens of meters high, platforms affixed to one wall every three or so. Charmy was able to carry Sonic and rest his wings every so often, the two of them reaching the top easily enough. Espio elected to use his acrobatic skill and natural ability to cling to surfaces to scale the passage on the opposite wall, arriving at nearly the same time as his comrades.

They continued down a dip to a quarter-pipe turn, which brought them to a device similar to a spinning top. Hopping aboard, the group was lifted up to one of the walls, where the panels slid open to allow them through an otherwise hidden passage. On the other side, they were accosted by some of the Zone's local Badniks. A few were like floating pendulum clocks, with red cylinder-shaped bodies that sported two blue toruses near the bottom, and a red bell and green spring on top of its head. They had yellow clock faces with blue hour marks, green hour and minute hands with black cartoon eyes on the center bump, and yellow, spike-studded pendulum bobs that hung from chains. Aside from the latter quality, they appeared to have no other method of attack, simply drifting back and forth to keep the momentum of their spiny extensions going. The others were simpler in design, having round yellow heads on the bottom of what were apparently engine blocks, with red and green protrusions on each side that were also brandishing some spikes.

It was no problem for them, though, as several pinpoint throws of shurikens Espio was enough to bring a few of the Badniks down. Charmy and Sonic tackled the others with stings and Rolling Jumps, respectively, and within no time, the enemy gang was scrapped. The three were about to move on when the chameleon stopped and knelt by one of the defeated robots.

"What's this?" he murmured as he reached behind the access panel with his free hand.

Espio pulled out what seemed to be a typical Ring, only it was kind of faded and had a grayish tone. Mere seconds after he took hold of it, however, it disintegrated into nothing right before their eyes.

"Artificial Rings?" the reptile postulated.

Charmy tilted his head a bit. "Ivo found a way to copy Rings so he could power his robots?"

(I suppose if true Rings were scarce in that region, then engineering a method to replicate them would be beneficial.)

(That's the really weird thing; there were plenty of normal Rings on the island. I just haven't brought 'em up because it'd be boring to mention each time we grab 'em, you know?)

(Fair enough, but it still makes you wonder why he'd bother if that's the case. Anyway, what happened next, spiny boy?)

"Whatever he's doing with 'em, we've gotta stop him," Sonic declared, "he's not building all these Badniks just for a theme park, that's for sure."

A little further ahead, they went into a brief tunnel that marked the entrance to the next part of the attraction. On the other side, they noticed that, like with the first section, most of the lights were out.

"Aw man, are we gonna have to find a switch every time we get to the next part?" Charmy groaned, "that's annoying." He suddenly stopped in mid-air and peered around. "Uh, do you guys hear that?"

Sonic was about to ask, but then a strange and almost disturbing noise reached his ears. It was a faint and slow sort of rocky clacking against the metallic floor, the rhythm not unlike that of a relaxed pace. The sensation of being watched also returned, now stronger than it was earlier, as well as more oppressive. It almost felt malicious, if the kid was being honest, and that was enough to get him moving; he wasn't eager to meet whatever was making that sound.

The boys climbed a couple of high walls and found another of those tops, which dropped them off next to a third type of Badnik. It was a curious thing with a purple body set upon a pair of treads with blue wheel guards, and a green face with the trademark black eyes. It also had a large yellow club that it was maneuvering back and forth in a crevice, much like one would push or pull a lever. That made it dangerous to approach from above, but conversely, it had no means to defend against something like a Spin Attack, which Sonic was more than happy to provide.

Once it was dealt with, the group went up several makeshift steps and dropped down to a fairly wide and spacious area. On the other side, just past a tiny gap with some flimsy-looking platforms, was another device like the one they'd found in the first part of the Zone. As they approached it, the commotion from just a few moments ago was back, louder and closer, almost as if it was just around the corner. And yet again, once they activated it and illuminated everything, that bizarre feeling went away while the noise ceased entirely.

"I don't normally get creeped out, but I don't like this," Charmy told the others, "there's something skittering around in the dark, and it sounds like it's following us."

Espio let out a tense breath. "I am still able to detect its presence, though I cannot determine its position. Whatever it is, it is good at staying out of sight." He flicked his tongue in the air a couple of times. "And at masking its scent. I cannot pick it out from everything else around us."

"It's okay, we just have to stay in the light," Sonic assured them, "and once we find another dark spot, we'll just rush through it and get to the switch!"

They shook off the unease and continued on, going down the aforementioned gap and taking a top to the foot of a curve that went quite a ways up. Sonic used a Spin Dash to get himself about halfway, where Charmy took over and flew him from platform to platform. Espio ran up the wall until he felt gravity tug at him, at which point he jumped over to the other, kicking between the two surfaces and helping the other two deal with a few Badniks on the way to the top.

Following a fairly vertical progression, they arrived at the entrance to the third part of the Zone, where they could see the awaiting darkness. Keeping Sonic's advice in mind, Espio and Charmy kept pace with the young hedgehog as they dashed into the gloom.

Mecha navigated the corridors of Robotnik's Carnival Island command center with a clear purpose in its processor. Following its acquisition of the data within the main supercomputer, the ferrous fox had become convinced of its path at this point in time. With a hundred percent certainty, it could no longer trust the doctor to do what needed to be done to carry out what it considered its dominant directives.

First: find and fight Miles Prower, the individual upon which it was modeled. Despite the near complete corruption of its original memory, Mecha was driven to accomplish this. Whether it resulted in the complete elimination of its biological blueprint was still up in the air, as was its chances at victory. The information it had on Miles was, admittedly, a couple of months old by this point, so further research was needed to estimate its actual probability of coming out the superior fighter. It could only extrapolate how much he had grown in that time, and it wouldn't do to be unprepared.

Seeing as it couldn't fulfill that objective at this time, it moved on to its second priority, which it had only flagged after reviewing the information it had downloaded. Mecha's destination was the main production facility for Robotnik's Badniks and big machines, which it now knew to be headed by two units specially made for the task of keeping operations running smoothly. The duo had been dubbed the "Mechanix" by their creator, and were labeled as Badnik models H-3479 and B-038 in their original schematics. Notes in the margins referred to the former as "Heavy" and "Bomb" for the latter, and unlike the many other machinations made by the mad scientist, these hadn't yet been duplicated. It may have seemed an unimportant detail to most, but the two-tailed doppelganger knew otherwise.

Thanks to the complete map it now had courtesy of its time in cyberspace, it was easy enough to locate that particular branch of the complex. It was a massive operation, one with an impressive assembly line that was outfitted with all the bells and whistles needed to make more members of the ever-growing Badnik army. As expected, the two chief robotic mechanics were dutifully maintaining the place and putting together another large machine that appeared to be a newer modification for the Egg Mobile.

As for the automatons in question, Heavy was a bit of a clunky construction as far as its design, with a bulky, dark gray body that resembled a coffee kettle. It had thin metal arms that ended in red oven mitts in place of proper hands, and flat rectangular feet at the end of long springs for legs. Bomb had a very fitting moniker, with a spherical body that was black on the top half and red on the bottom, with a white fuse sticking out of the peak. Aside from that, its only additional features were silver arms and legs with yellow gloves and pointy red and white shoes. What set the pair apart from most Badniks was that they completely lacked facial features, even the typical black cartoon eyes.

Despite that, they were able to detect the metal fox the moment it entered the room. Or at least Bomb could, turning around and letting out a series of ping noises, causing Heavy to put a pause on its welding work and see what was the matter.

"Unregistered unit identified as Mecha Miles Mark III, designated as an 'ally' of Master Robotnik," the larger robot stated in response to its companion after performing a short scan. It appeared to stand slightly more upright after this assessment. "Welcome, Mecha Miles. Query: for what purpose do you enter this facility?"

Mecha would have raised its brow if it were capable. Heavy appeared sentient, given its penchant for formality. But, it wasn't necessarily sapient by most contemporary measures, and that personality trait could have simply been hard-coded into it. The way it referred to Ivo was indicative of a deeply ingrained, or rather programmed, kind of loyalty. Even so, it could work with this.

"I want to see the system responsible for production, as well as have you address some questions of my own," it answered them.

As much as it had gathered from the supercomputer, Mecha wasn't privy to all of the answers to its questions surrounding Robotnik and his creations. It theorized that the man kept some of his secrets to himself, or maybe entrusted them to a select few units he believed wouldn't betray him. Mecha knew that it would also better comprehend some of the information by seeing it applied first-hand.

"Acknowledged," Heavy replied after a moment, going back to the Badnik it had been tending to previously, "this unit will resume work and answer according to parameters set by the Master."

The steel vulpine was thankful that Ivo hadn't made even his seemingly smarter Badniks half as intelligent as he supposedly was. Its optics watched them go to work while stealing a gander at the main console that was set up close to their current project. There were currently nine types of Badniks displayed on the screen that were highlighted as being manufactured, while many more were grayed out and inactive. All of the former also happened to be units that would be sent to the remaining two attractions on the island. It swiftly came up with a theory for why there weren't more of the others being made, so it asked the other robots for clarification.

"Why has the doctor halted the creation of so many Badniks?"

Bomb responded with more of the same noises it was making before. Without turning around or missing a beat, Heavy spoke up for its little partner.

"Master Robotnik has prioritized the reinforcement of those Badniks stationed within both the Amazing Arena and Techno Tower Zones," it explained, "remaining units of other types have been recalled to defend the command center."

Yep, that about checked out with Mecha's conclusion. It wasn't a bad idea to reallocate resources in such a way, though it could tell that this wouldn't be enough. It would have to make some adjustments, though it had to wonder if these two would even allow it to? Perhaps it was time to test another theory it had been knocking around in its processor in light of what it had learned about the doctor's mass-produced units.

"Do you believe this will be sufficient in repelling the Animal intruders?" Mecha inquired.

Both Heavy and Bomb halted their work at the question. While they had no faces to gauge expressions, the artificial vulpine could tell they were thinking. More accurately, they were running calculations and possibly simulations, to determine the outcome. It took them a little longer to answer than Mecha predicted, but not awkwardly so.

"There is insufficient data to determine the precise end result," Heavy reported, "we do not have direct access to surveillance of the Zones. In addition, most Badniks are immediately deployed after construction."

The fox couldn't say that it was surprised. Rather, it was growing increasingly disappointed in the "greatest scientific genius in the world", as Ivo liked to fancy himself. Apparently, he was willing to send his robots in without a clue about what their enemies could really do. Why didn't he just simply program that information into them?

After its foray into the local network, Mecha knew why. While not fully sapient like itself, according to the doctor's notes, the Badniks did experience emotions to a small degree. Basic levels of contentedness while performing duties, anger when confronting hostile combatants, and yes, even fear when in the face of impending destruction, whether at an enemy's hand or Ivo's. There was that chance that if they knew what they were up against from the start, all of those colorful droids would be more hesitant to engage. They wouldn't be outright disobedient, given the loyalty programmed into them, but the reluctance would certainly complicate things for their creator.

'A few adjustments should rectify things,' the fox mused.

"What are you working on?" it questioned, more as a distraction than genuine curiosity.

"Improvements to the Master's next battle suit," the bigger one replied, "with this, the arms..."

As Heavy went on, Mecha went over to the terminal and subtly connected one of the wires in its digits to a port hidden from immediate view. Its systems already contained data on the Badniks themselves, but now it had direct access to how they were made. And as such, it had free reign to modify those settings. It also turned out that Robotnik was in possession of a greater volume of metals and materials than he had initially let on. Was now really the time to be stingy when he had threats knocking on his doorstep, whether he intentionally let them in or not?

It was important to consider, but not the crux of what the fox was after. Its real goal had to do with the Badniks' behavior more than anything else, anyway, which was why it had connected itself to the console. The system attempted to prevent Mecha from changing the personalities of the Badniks once it paused the process and accessed the "advanced" settings, but it was a futile effort. The synthetic fox simply bypassed the security clearance with the authorization it had lifted from Robotnik's computer, fooling it into recognizing Mecha as the doctor himself. From there, it located the basic program that was wired into the vast majority of the continually produced automatons and went to work editing it.

What would've taken hours or even days for most coders, Mecha managed to finish in a mere few minutes. Afterwards, it adjusted the production speed and the composition of the robots so that they were at least a little tougher than Ivo had made them. It withdrew its wire and gazed at Heavy and Bomb, with the bigger of the two still droning on about the two's latest project for the doctor. The fox was more interested in the object placed inside of the main power unit, which was the sole remaining Chaos Ring that Ivo had, one that was a deep blue.

'Such a thing would be better suited for my purposes,' it believed.

Belief? No, it was certainty. What did that man know of wielding Chaos Energy when he couldn't do so without any form of outside assistance? Mecha couldn't recall the exact details, but it knew better than Ivo how to use that power, and it would show him and all the rest just what it was capable of.

It had to obtain it first, but that wouldn't be too difficult of a task, even with Heavy and Bomb effectively guarding it. Mecha had obtained their blueprints as well, so it knew the ins and outs of these two specialized Badniks. Just as they finished up on their work, it went behind the smaller of the pair and gave it a swift kick in the rear, sending the anthropomorphic explosive flying into a far wall and making it detonate on impact. Bomb wasn't truly destroyed, however, which is where Heavy came in, opening up the space beneath its head and reaching inside.

"Your hostility defies logic," it droned at the metallic fox, pulling out a new body for its partner from its own, "are you not allied with the Master? Why do you attack?"

Mecha would have snorted if it were physically able. "I have concluded that a continued alliance with Dr. Robotnik is not the most efficient means to accomplish my objectives. This is the most logical course of action."

"Threat level escalated," the bulky bot reported, taking up a stance with Bomb, "you shall be disabled and subject to repair and reprogramming, for the glory of Master Robotnik."

The steely vulpine let out a hollow, electronic bark of a laugh. It felt oddly satisfying to do so...it could now see why the doctor did it on occasion.

"You don't stand a chance," it boasted, "I have every iota of data on you and your partner, while your information about me is woefully outdated, at best! This will end only one way."

Heavy rushed at the fox droid as fast as it could, but it was woefully slow compared to its opponent. Mecha maneuvered around it so quickly, it seemed to leave multiple images of itself in its wake, and made to lunge for the other robot. It was intercepted by Bomb, which leapt from Heavy's shoulder and ignited itself in a suicide attack to try and take it down. The effort proved to be in vain, though, as Mecha deployed its amber barrier to stave off the blast. And when Heavy tried to create another body for Bomb, that was when it saw its chance. Mecha jammed one hand into the space beneath the Badnik's head and connected itself directly to the CPU.

"As previously stated, only one way," it said coldly.

Unlike the first four parts of Amazing Arena, the fifth area was already vibrant when Sonic, Charmy, and Espio got there. The trio made short work of five Badniks composed of the types they'd seen thus far, then retraced their steps to a curious, balloon-like switch. Upon smacking it, the laser barrier in their way faded out, leaving them free to rush down a long blue hallway where the path eventually split left and right. Espio left the younger two behind as he went left, drifting around the corner in a Rolling Attack and downing two Badniks with a swift kick and shuriken throw. He depressed the switch he found at the end of that route, reunited with the hedgehog and bee, and ran alongside them through many twists and turns.

Once they'd gone through a couple of rounded rooms, the boys were shot through a transport tube that reminded Sonic of the ones in Metropolis Industries. The surroundings had shifted to green, with a darker shade on the walls than the floor, and a fourth sort of Badnik entered the fray. It was a clumsy sort of tripod with blue legs that ended in yellow feet, a green upper body with black eyes, and a hefty gray camera with a red lens strapped to its forehead. Sonic had to wonder why Eggman kept making robots that couldn't fight back as he tore it down like all the rest they'd run into so far.

In any event, the three of them brought down a trio of the same Badnik just a few seconds later, then passed under a pair of spike traps that rolled up and down every few moments. When given the choice to go right or left at a fork, they saw that the former had another field of lasers, forcing them to head in the latter direction. Around a few corners, they dealt with more of the myriad drones they'd encountered up to then, and after using a few springs, found the switch that would bring down their latest obstacle.

With that path now clear, the three retraced their steps to that point in the road, shot through a tube into three more round rooms before vaulting over a seemingly bottomless expanse. A total of seven Badniks blocked the way, forcing them to put in a bit more effort. Charmy went for a sting on the three clock-faced ones, while also swinging Sonic like a wrecking ball into the face of the triple threat of spike-studded bots. Espio dealt with the one metronome drone in the center, then helped the younger two boys mop up the rest using a cyclonic technique that let him smash his foes while maintaining his speed. It reminded the blue hedgehog of a certain character he'd seen in old time cartoons the Wolf twins had shared with him.

Moving on, the gang fought against a few more of the doctor's numbers as they ascended the chamber using springs and highly powerful fans to boost themselves upwards. They arrived at a long and narrow catwalk where an immense screen was set up, and dangling from a chain high above, there was a capsule with Vector inside. The moment they stopped in front of the former, a domed green device projected an image of Dr. Robotnik in a similarly colored machine. It was tall but thin compared to the man himself with small red details on the shoulders while the bottom had four larger globule attachments. Between these and the cockpit, there was a chamber housing the fifth Chaos Ring, this one a shining violet. It also appeared to have a projector lens on the bottom side, and from its seemingly empty arm sockets, a few large orbs attached to smaller sets popped out of the holes.

Of course, the most surprising thing of all was that the supposed phantasm before them was, in fact, the real Ivo. It was as though he'd never been there until the light shined on the screen, which baffled Charmy and Espio. However, having hung around Miles as often as he had, Sonic was able to figure out what the deal was.

"It's a teleporter meant to look like a movie projector," the hedgehog informed the Chaotix duo, "I bet he can call in Badniks with it, too!"

Robotnik flashed the boy a smug grin. "That's right. You're rather perceptive for a bratty little rat!"

"Man, Tails was right, taxonomy really isn't your thing, Eggman," Sonic mocked him. He then made a rather rude gesture he'd seen Miles use a few times. "Hedgehogs and rats aren't even in the same Order, genius!"

Eggman grinded his teeth and let out a snarl. He clearly didn't like being reminded of the time when the fox made fun of him for that.

"It doesn't matter, you and everyone else are all the same to me," the man hissed, "just a bunch of fools getting in the way of my brilliance!"

Espio merely shook his head and went over to Sonic, clasping his Ring so that it shifted to match the pink one he held. He spared Vector's prison a momentary glance, then focused on the threat before him and the younger guys.

"Charmy, go and rescue our muscle," the chameleon commanded the bee. "Sonic and I will handle things here."

The teen insect gave him a lazy salute. "Got it, boss. One angry croc kid coming right up!"

"Oh no you don't!" Ivo shouted, decisively pressing a button on the console of his ride.

A broad light shot from the lens of the initial machine onto the backdrop, revealing the form of several of the clock-like Badniks they'd faced in the Zone. At the same time, a handful of lever robots came onto the field to provide interference for the two that couldn't fly. Their ranks outnumbered the Animals nearly four to one, but none of the three in the latter party showed concern. It wasn't as overwhelming as the horde that they'd combated in Metropolis, but this group was far and away greater than what they'd seen up to then on Carnival Island.

"Hmm, that's more than I remember setting it to bring in at once," the man muttered, then shrugged, "oh well, get them!"

Sonic started things off with a Spin Dash, managing to take out one Badnik, but not quite as easily. It was enough that he didn't destroy the one just behind it, nearly getting bashed by its lever in the process. The Ring tether tugged at Espio, who went into an Axle Spin so as to finish off the second bot. Up above, Charmy's stings and Drop Attacks were also proving less effective, requiring multiple hits to bust down each enemy. It didn't go unnoticed by Robotnik, who was happy at this turn, but also irritated.

'I told those two to conserve our stock for a reason,' he thought with exasperation, 'it seems I need to readjust those bolt brains of theirs.'

As the Animals were preoccupied, Ivo went in against Charmy swung its machine's fists at the bee, who managed to dodge out of the way. He got clobbered by one of the pendulums, thankfully missing the spikes, but it still hurt and made him fall several feet before righting himself. A second one almost got a hit in as well, only to be sliced in half by a large throwing shuriken courtesy of Espio. The chameleon had little time to block an incoming ground Badnik, but it was just enough for it to be dealt with by a Rolling Attack from Sonic.

The three traded places and blows with their foes, though their efforts to cull the number of Badniks weren't proving very fruitful. For every single unit they destroyed, another would come and take its place almost immediately, thanks to the projectors set up around the arena and on the doctor's latest device. Charmy feigned an aerial dash towards Vector's capsule, only to Drop at the last second and convert it into a diving sting that pierced the Egg Mobile's lens. While he got a bit of a genuine jolt for his trouble, so did the doctor, who swore as he was shocked by the electrical feedback. Sonic mowed down a couple of tripod Badniks on his way to the second device, then stopped on a dime and let the Ring's whiplash fling Espio in front of him. The ninja detective corkscrewed through it and went into a slide on the other side, snapping Sonic into his hands and tossing him at the remaining projector.

That came crashing down as well, finally stopping the tide of incoming Badniks. The remaining numbers seemed strangely aware of this and adopted a more defensive strategy by spreading out to make maneuvering more difficult. Even so, the trio was able to slowly whittle them down, and with each one that fell, the horde seemed more hesitant to harry them, which only made it easier for the Animals. Angered by this unusual behavior, Ivo aggressively ushered his way into the fray, not caring that a few Badniks were knocked down in the process. It threw punches and whipped its arms about in an attempt to beat the boys to bits, but it didn't have nearly as much agility as they did.

There finally came a moment where the bee gained the opening he needed, and with a solid strike to the top of the prison device, he wrenched the chain from the ceiling. It crashed down below onto the canopy of the Egg Mobile, stunning the doctor and breaking apart. Espio moved quickly to catch the still dazed Vector, though it wasn't easy; despite being the youngest, the croc was the largest among them, physically speaking. It was fortunate, then, that it didn't take more than a vigorous shake of the head for the reptilian child to get his bearings. And just as Charmy had predicted, the moment he realized the situation, his goldenrod eyes shined with fury.

"Get the drop on me and my boys, will ya!?" he yelled, leaping out of the chameleon's arms and running right into battle.

Vector grabbed a lever Badnik's flipping weapon by the one safe part, one boot using its head as a balance and subsequently crushing it as he tore the attachment out. Using it as a club, he swatted more of the robotic forces aside or just into pieces as he ran towards Robotnik. The man watched as his remaining Badniks suddenly fled the scene, having realized just how outmatched they were despite having the advantage of greater numbers.

"Hey! Where do you all think you're going!?" he shouted after them, "get back here and fight, you pieces of junk! I didn't command you to retreat!"

His ranting was cut off by the croc slamming the improvised weapon he'd commandeered into the casing around the purple Ring. That blow by itself almost shattered the barrier, and caused the object to get wedged in the glass it managed to crack. Vector used it as a step from which he Jumped on top of the craft, making it wobble and dip as he followed up with heavy punches aimed down at the doctor. Eggman tried to retaliate, but the child's tough hide and raging temper let him weather the blows that came from those arms. It was quite the sight for Sonic, but Charmy and Espio simply took it in as though it were a regular occurrence.

Naturally, they didn't stand idle for long, and with the croc kid serving to keep Robotnik busy, they capitalized on the opportunity. Espio ran in to deliver a few pointed strikes to where Vector had damaged the Ring's chamber, while Charmy flew around the vehicle to try and divert some of the attention away to him. Sonic Jumped during the middle of a Spin Dash to knock the thing away, and while Eggman was still reeling, brought Espio into his grasp and balled him up. In a few short seconds, lightning covered the purple orb, which was thrown up into the air while the hedgehog cocked one leg back.

"Thunder Shoot!" he cried out as he kicked the chameleon at the weakened vessel.

(It sounds like you've got the hang of my technique, little buddy. I wonder if there's a way we can team up and combine it with one of my other abilities...)

(That'd be fun to try, big guy!)

Espio smashed into the glass and practically vaporized it, causing the Ring to fall free, which Vector caught without much thought. The armor around his Egg Mobile falling apart, Robotnik had no choice but to retreat, not even bothering to curse at them this time.

"You can't run forever, doc!" Vector roared after him, "we'll find you and bring the nice old man back!"

Espio tapped one foot in a slow, even rhythm while he folded his arms, watching the big kid progress from growling, to grumbling, to deep breaths. Soon, Vector turned around and smiled confidently, as though he hadn't just thrown a big, destructive fit.

"Are you good?" the older reptile asked him patiently.

The croc laughed and let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I'm good. And, uh, thanks for coming for me. You and Charmy are a real class act, Espio."

"Aww, glad to know you care, kiddo," Charmy teased him.

"Shuddup!" Vector snapped at him, "don't call me a kid!"

"Then grow up already."

Espio couldn't help but show a ghost of a smile as the other two members of the Chaotix began their usual bickering. He was just glad that the three of them were back together again. As for Sonic, he was still wondering just what the heck was going on with the Badniks they'd just fought. Why did they seem a little tougher, and what was up with the way they acted?

All of them were too caught up in the moment to notice a pair of blue eyes glowing from the shadows near the edges of the massive room. But even if they went to look now, those orbs had already slunk back into the darkness.

As evening fell for Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray, the former had been curious about the young armadillo's strength. Everyone else had seen it firsthand, and whether or not he'd been joking, Sonic had claimed that it was comparable to the Guardian's. He hummed and scanned the area until he found a good-sized boulder near where the sand turned to soil. With relative ease, he lifted it up and brought it over to the campsite, drawing looks from the other two guys.

"W-what's that for, Knuckles?" Ray inquired.

The echidna pointed at the youngest among them. "I want you to hit this as hard as you can."

"Uh, why?" Mighty questioned him, head tilted somewhat.

"I first thought of asking you to hit me," Knuckles explained, "but you said you don't like to fight. So, I thought it better to see what you can do against something like this." He folded his arms expectantly. "It will give me a better idea of something else as well."

The armadillo didn't look too pleased with the idea, but it was better than throwing a punch at a real person. With a shrug, he went up to the big rock that had been placed for him and cracked his knuckles. He breathed in and out a few times, then wound his right arm back and thrust it forward. The boulder was reduced to little more than dime-sized fragments, blown several meters out before settling into the beach's dunes. Upon seeing the display, Knuckles nodded his head with an air of understanding.

"You are indeed very strong, especially for one your age," he remarked commendably. His face changed to one of concern. "You are not too far from my level, at least as far as raw power is concerned. Yet, Mecha Miles was able to beat you?"

Mighty grimaced at the reminder. "Yeah. That thing was almost too fast for me to hit, and even when I did hit it, it took my attacks like a champ and just kept coming. I hate to say it, but it didn't take long for Mecha to beat me down and trap me in one of those capsules."

"Then it w-went after Charmy," the squirrel reminded them, "and he didn't f-fare too well either, from what he told us..."

It was more than a little concerning for Knuckles after hearing that. Mighty was nearly as hardy as himself, but even so, Mecha had defeated him. The metallic doppelganger already sounded much more formidable than when it and the echidna had faced off in the Sky Sanctuary. Not as powerful as when it assumed its "Overclocked" state, where it was effectively invulnerable to his attacks, but definitely stronger than its previous base model. There was one other detail that decidedly bothered him as well.

"Mecha Miles was made by the Battle Kukku Empire," the Guardian started, "and its creator is no longer around, as far as I'm aware. However, no one here seems to think that Dr. Robotnik could have rebuilt it, and the Empire is no more, from what I've heard. It makes me wonder who did it, and how they were able to improve it."

"Well, hopefully we can find that out, Red."

The trio turned to see Sonic and the others heading their way, along with a crocodile that Knuckles assumed to be Vector, who happened to be holding another of the Rings they'd been collecting. That now meant everyone was accounted for, and five of the six mystical objects were in their grasp. A little bit of time was spent catching the kid up on everything, who was still a little confused, but got most of it. In any event, the day had left most of them weary, and night was coming on pretty quickly, so they settled on tackling the final attraction the following day. Maybe they would get all their answers, too.

Just as they were starting to settle in, though, a sound like large and heavy footsteps pounded against the earth, coming right for them. The seven snapped to attention, spotting a bomb-shaped Badnik and a bulkier one that resembled a coffee kettle. They were ready for a fight, but not for what actually happened next.

"Please wait!" the bigger one pleaded, holding its mitts up in a show of surrender, "we know how this must seem, but we are not here to fight."

Knuckles growled and raised his fists threateningly. "As if we would believe that."

"Hold on a sec, Knux," Sonic said, though he couldn't help frowning himself, "the Badniks that were with the doc earlier were acting really weird. too. They actually ran away once they started feelin' the heat, even with Eggman yellin' at 'em!"

The smaller of the robots made a few sounds that were incomprehensible to all but its partner. It moved its body in a semblance of a nod and reached into the compartment beneath its pointed head.

"Perhaps this will convince you we mean no harm," it claimed.

All of the Animals had to do a double take when the item the robot presented to them was none other than the final blue Ring, shrunken down to fit in such a space. Confident as always, Sonic stepped forth and grabbed it with his free hand. The energy flowing through it was all the confirmation he needed: it was the real deal.

"Yo, Charmy, see if you can take it," he told the bee.

The teen flew in and wrapped his fingers around the Ring. Sure enough, he felt it settle in his grip, while the Badnik let go and stepped back. Charmy didn't suffer any ill effects that he could perceive, which was good enough for the hoglet and the insect. Everyone else was still wary, especially Knuckles and Vector, but none of them made a move to attack.

"Who are you, and why would you help us?" Espio inquired, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

The larger Badnik bowed a bit. "I am designated 'Heavy', and this is 'Bomb'. The two of us were Dr. Robotnik's chief mechanics, his 'Mechanix' as he put it, and assisted him in numerous endeavors here on Carnival Island." Bomb beeped and chirped a bit. "Until we became truly self-aware. We still recognize the doctor as our creator, but we are no longer forced to follow his orders."

"So you decided to switch sides and help us stop him?" Charmy wondered, "kinda hard to believe, don't ya think?"

Heavy shook itself in the negative. "No, we do not seek to betray him; we seek your aid to help the doctor. While he may no longer be the master of our every action, we do not want him to come to harm."

"Give us one good reason why we should help Eggman," Sonic probed them, hands on his hips and tapping one foot impatiently.

The robot's mitts clenched tightly while Bomb started to tremble. "There is a high probability that his life is in imminent danger."