Episode 18 - Chapter Eighteen: Battle of the Bands

"Metal Sonic, don't just stand there! Find my Sonic clone, and bring him back! With the rod!" Eggman shouted at Sonic's robot double, getting saliva all over it's shiny head.
"AT ONCE, DR. EGGMAN." Metal Sonic replied before it flew through an opening.
"Yar! What makes ye think ye can't search for your Sonic clone usin' the computer?" Asked Cubot, suddenly switching to pirate-talk.
"Grr... because whenever I can get close to finding him with my radar system, I keep detecting a disturbance that makes me lose his position." Eggman replied while grabbing Cubot and yanking out his voice chip. "Finally. Until I can make you a new voice chip, you're mute!"

A few days later in Knothole, all of it's citizens had gathered for the 2nd annual Battle of the Bands.
This year, only three bands were competing:
The Underground Hogs - Lily the Morph-hog, Sonia the Hedgehog, and Manic the Hedgehog Mina and the Songoose Crocs - Mina Mongoose, Ash Mongoose, and Vector the Crocodile The Freedom Fighters - Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, and TodStar the Echidna

"Dude! Mina's performin' today?" Said Sonic as the Freedom Fighters were looking at the line-up sheet.
"Yeah... aren't those two your cousins, Sonic?" Amy asked while pointing at Sonia and Manic, in an attempt to get Sonic's mind off of Mina.
"Oh, yeah." Sonic said as he saw them. "Wait, those two are here, too? Sweet." While Sonic was excited to see his cousins again, TodStar was staring at one name in particular...
"Are you gonna be okay, TodStar?" Amy asked him, once she noticed the name: Lily the Morph-hog.
"I think so..." TodStar replied.
Suddenly, quick footsteps were heard from behind the Freedom Fighters.
"SONIC!" Yelled some small hedgehogs as they leapt at Sonic. The pink hedgehog girl was wearing a dress with short purple skirt and a red sleeveless top, a band of gold that forms a pointed shape at the front with a small circle in the center of it, a purple gloves that go up to the elbows, and red stockings under purple boots. The green hedgehog boy was wearing a reddish-brown vest and black spiked vest.
"Whoa!" Sonic shouted as he was shoved onto the ground. "Sonia! Manic! Hey, you guys!" Once Sonic realized who knocked him down, he gave the two of them a hug.
"Long time no see, eh Sonic?" Asked Manic.
"Yeah, it's been... three years." Sonic replied. "Hey, how's my Aunt Aleena doin'?"
"She's good. Taking care of us as best she can." Said Sonia as another hedgehog walked up to the group.
"Lily..." Said TodStar, once he saw the morph-hog.
"Not now, TodStar." She replied as she reached for Sonia and Manic. "C'mon guys, we have to get ready."
"Lily, wait!" TodStar yelled as he grabbed Lily's arm with a look of sadness on his face, which got her attention. "I want to talk. I wanna know why you're so mad at me. What'd I do?"
"*sigh* We'll talk after Battle of the Bands, okay?" Sighed Lily, finally giving in to her ex-boyfriend. TodStar then nodded. Lily then left with Sonia and Manic, before someone else was shocked to see Sonic...
"Sweet, merciful Chaos... say it ain't so..." She said, staring at the blue hedgehog. "...it's him..."
"Ohh... it's her..." Sonic said softly as he spotted the Mobian staring at him: a yellow mongoose with purple hair, both of her ears pierced, and a green & purple top and skirt. Both Sonic and the mongoose ran to meet each other at the speed of sound (yep, she's that fast, too!).
"Mina..."
"Sonic..."
"HEY, MINA!" Yelled a voice unknown to Sonic.
"SONIC!" Shouted Amy.
"What're you doin' Mina? We're the second act. We need to get ready!" Said the unknown voice. He was a mongoose, but with black hair, white jacket, red shirt, black pants and shoes.
"Just give me a minute, Ash. I-I'll be right there." Mina told the other mongoose.
"What's your problem this time, Amy?" Sonic asked his self-proclaimed girfriend.
"My problem is that your mind is stuck on Mina, isn't it?" Amy replied, but Sonic turned his head back to look at Mina, and she did the same. "SONIC!" "Yeah, what?"
"C'mon, Sonic. We need you at the top of your game, man." Tails told him.
"Don't worry, guys." Sonic replied. "I'll be ready to rock when it's our time."

Meanwhile within Angel Island, the Chaotix had gathered in front of the Master Emerald, but behind a TV to watch the Battle of the Bands live from Knothole.
"I can't wait to see how Vector goes today!" Said an over-excited Charmy.
"He should be ready. He's been practicing with Mina & Ash for 3 days straight!" Knuckles pointed out.
"Honestly, I'm more excited about the Freedom Fighters!" Said Mighty.
"Me too." Julie-Su agreed. "I'm pretty eager to see how they go today." Knuckles was about to say something, but he suddenly heard his father's voice in his head.
"Knuckles... I must speak with you, immediately!" Locke told his son, telepathically.
"*groan* All right, I'm comin'..." Knuckles groaned as he got up from his seat.
"Wh-wh-where are you going, Knuckles?" Ray asked him.
"My father wants a word with me." Knuckles replied. "I won't be long." Knuckles then approached his father's chamber. "All right Dad, what couldn't wait until Battle of the Bands was finished?"
"The end of Mobius!" Locke angrily replied, which startled Knuckles.
"What're you talking about?"
"While you're 'rocking out' with your friends, I have been sensing a dark presence on this island."
"Dark presence?"
"Yes. And I fear that both you and the Master Emerald shall fall to it's influence!"
"Pff! You're imagining things, Dad. Both me and the Master Emerald are fine. The Chaotix and I have got it covered!"
"(I hope you're right, Knuckles. I hope you're right...)"

Back at the Battle of the Bands, the Underground Hogs were performing their song.
Lily was singing lead, while Sonia was singing backup and playing a keyboard. And Manic was on drums. While they were good, the crowd didn't get into it all that much.
When the three made it backstage, Sonic and TodStar were standing there. Both Sonia and Manic burst into tears and ran into their cousin's chest.
"Heh. It's okay, guys." He told them. "You'll do better next year."
"*sniff* Really?" They both asked Sonic.
"Absolutely!" Sonic replied while giving Sonia and Manic a wink, a grin and a thumbs-up.
"I thought you guys were good." TodStar pointed out, trying to get Lily's attention, but she walked right past him. "Oi. Lily-"
"Not now, TodStar!" She growled, which startled TodStar.
"Five minutes, Songoose Crocs!" Yelled a stage hand. Mina soon walked past Sonic and blew him a kiss, which made him look dizzy. Mina giggled when she saw what she did to Sonic.
"Ay, Sonic. You right?" TodStar asked him.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sonic replied, getting frustrated by people asking him how he was after being close to Mina.

After Mina (lead singer), Ash (drummer and backup singer) and Vector (guitarist) jumped on stage, the crowd was cheering up a storm when they saw the female mongoose.
"Man, I had no idea that Mina was that popular..." Said TodStar.
"Where've you been, man? Mina's the #1 artist on Mobius!" Sonic told him before Mina and the Songoose Crocs started performing their song.

While they were performing, a certain green hedgehog was approaching Hidden Palace at a speed that matched Sonic's. Not only that, but as he got closer to the Master Emerald, dark clouds started to form...
The crowd didn't seem to notice the dark clouds, as they were busy cheering at Mina and her band.
While the Chaotix were watching Mina and the Songoose Crocs, Knuckles sensed something dark approaching...
"(I feel it...) Dad was right..." He said as he stood up again. "Guys, we need to protect the Master Emerald."
"Why? I thought your old man was talking gobble-de-gook!" Mighty pointed out.
"That's what I thought..." Knuckles replied. "...until I sensed the same thing just a few seconds ago."
"C'mon Knuckles, admit it: You're Dad's crazy!" Charmy told him.
"I think Knuckles is right. We should be protecting the Master Emerald, not just sitting in front of that!" Said Julie-Su, standing up and wrapping her arms around Knuckles.
"Thanks, 'Su." Said Knuckles, to which she replied with a wink. "Okay, you guys stay outside and holler and if you see anything strange." Julie-Su, Espio and Mighty nodded. "I'll stay in here with Charmy and Ray."

Back at the Battle of the Bands, the crowd was screaming up a storm at the end of Mina and the Songoose Crocs' performance.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Mina yelled to her fans before running off stage, where Sonic was waiting for her.
"Man, you were great, Mina." He told her.
"Thanks, Sonic. Good luck to you, too." Mina replied.
"Thanks."
"Strewth, Vector. I didn't know you could rock out like that!" TodStar told his reptillian friend.
"Hah. There's a few things you don't know about me, Toddy-boy." Vector replied.
"Five minutes, Freedom Fighters!" Yelled the same stage hand.
"Okay, final checks..." Said Sonic as the band gathered. "Lead singer-"
"Ready to rock, mate!" TodStar announced.
"Lead guitarist- that's me." Said Sonic. "Backup vocals- that's me, too! Bass player-"
"Ready when you are, Sonic!" Amy pointed out.
"And finally, where's our drummer?"
"Let's do it!" Said Tails.
"Sounds good to me!" Sonic replied as he put his guitar strap around him. "LET'S ROCK!"

Some thunder was heard above the crowd, but again, they didn't seem to notice as four Mobians were being raised from below the stage. No one could make out who they were, as there was steam covering the stage. Suddenly, someone started playing the guitar, which was quickly followed by another one on stage yelling "Ooooohhhhhhhaaalllright!" The steam soon cleared, and the Freedom Fighters were revealed to the audience, which made them cheer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, on guitar: Sonic the Hedgehog!" TodStar yelled into his microphone, getting the crowd into it while the band got started with their song.
"Let's give it up for our drummer, Tails!" Yelled TodStar, which made the crowd cheer again. "C'mon, don't leave Amy, our bass player out!" The crowd cheered again, this time at the pink hedgehog.
"C'mon folks, give it up for our lead singer: TodStar the Echidna!" Yelled Sonic on his own microphone while playing guitar. The crowd once again cheered. "Here we go!"

"Knuckles, it looks like So-ugh!" Julie-Su shouted before she, Espio and Mighty were knocked out by Scourge.
"Julie-Su, what's goi- Sonic?" Asked Knuckles.
"Ha. Sonic's old news, dude." Said the green hedgehog. "You don't wanna mess with the latest Scourge to hit Mobius."
"Maybe I do..." Knuckles replied while smacking his fists together. Knuckles and Scourge began their fight. Knuckles throwing punch after punch, but they didn't seem to do much to Scourge, as he fought back with a series of kicks that dealt some serious damage.

"Ngh. THUNDER ARROW!" Shouted Knuckles before arrows of Chaos Energy rained down from the dark clouds, towards Scourge. Scourge was ready for him, though, as he started spinning, the rod he was carrying released an aura of darkness that protected Scourge from Knux's Thunder Arrows. "What? How'd you survive that?" Knuckles asked after seeing Scourge completely unharmed.
"With the Scepter of Darkness in my hand, I'm practically unstoppable, man." Scourge chuckled while holding up the Scepter of Darkness.
"Scepter of Darkness?" Knuckles asked.
"You know, I can give you and the Master Emerald some of it's power..." Scourge told Knuckles.
"Fat chance! That mouldy old rod isn't getting anywhere near the Master Emerald!" Yelled Knuckles.
"I'm not asking, dreadlock dweeb." Scourge replied before he leapt over to the Master Emerald.

As Sonic started with a guitar solo, Knuckles was running as fast as he could towards the Master Emerald. But Scourge had already stuck the Scepter of Darkness on top of the Master Emerald.
Knuckles then tried to punch Scourge in the face, but as Scourge jumped, Knuckles ended up giving him two pretty bad stomach scratches.
After Knuckles threw the Scepter of Darkness back at Scourge (which he caught), the echidna felt something dark stirring up inside of him and the Master Emerald...
"Knuckles, what's wro- *gasp* Sweet, merciful Chaos!" Locke cried after seeing his son and the Master Emerald starting to be covered in darkness.

"Yeah..." TodStar sang as Sonic hit one last note with his guitar. The audience was up off their feet, cheering and screaming for the Freedom Fighters.

"Knuckles, listen to me!" Locke shouted. "Your mind and heart are pure! You cannot fall to the evil that surrounds you!"
"Too late for that, old man." Knuckles replied with a distorted voice as the darkness completely surrounded him and turned the Master Emerald black. Knuckles then fired an energy blast at Locke, which sent his father into a wall.

Meanwhile, back at Battle of the Bands, the three bands had gathered on stage, when the current King of Knothole arrived to reveal the results.
"Hey, isn't that Sally's brother?" Amy asked Tails.
"Yeah. I think Sally said his name was Elias." Tails replied.
"As King of Knothole, it gives me great pleasure to announce the winner of this year's Battle of the Bands." Elias said after he grabbed a microphone. He then pulled out an a piece of paper from his pocket. "And the winner is-"
"AAAAGH! NNNNAAAAGH!" TodStar yelled as he fell to the floor of the stage and held his head in agony, interrupting the King's announcement.
"TodStar!" Tails and Amy cried.
"Dude, are you alright?" Sonic asked him.
"Get a medical team up here, immediately!" Elias ordered his subjects.
"TodStar..." Lily softly said to herself.
"It's... my father..." Groaned TodStar, struggling to sit up. "Something really bad is going down on Angel Island..."
"Like what?" Asked Vector, who was now worried.
"That." TodStar replied, pointing at a cloud of darkness that had started to cover Angel Island.

When Julie-Su came to, she saw what looked like Knuckles staring down at her. He was now wearing alot of armor (Knuckles' Gladiator outfit from Sonic Rivals 2), and also had an aura of darkness around him. "Kn-Knuckles?"
"Not anymore..." He replied with a distorted voice. "I am Enerjak, the one being who has the power to reduce all of Mobius to a planet of FLAMES!"

END OF CHAPTER

Emerald Count:
Metal Sonic - Purple Chaos Emerald
Sonic - Blue Chaos Emerald
Omega - Yellow Chaos Emerald
Shadow - Green Chaos Emerald
Cosmo - Grey Chaos Emerald
TOTAL - 5 Chaos Emeralds