(Chapter Fifteen. Now, I'm looking forward to this next chapter or two. You'll see why by the end of this chapter!
Oh, and after today, updates will possibly be hindered; my part-time summer job is starting up on Thursday, and hours are from 9 to 4; my prime writing time. Updates will most likely slow down.
Look for the reference a certain character (other than Viral) voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama! And enjoy!)
"This is the tale of a man who continues to fight his destiny.
"At the base of the valley, Tails finds a beautiful girl in a box.
"This girl's name is Cosmo.
"Suddenly, one of the remaining Helix Generals arrives.
"Then, Cosmo rushes out and identifies herself as the daughter of the Helix King..."
燃えてばかりでいいのかい?
"I will not allow you to hurt these people!" Cosmo continued.
Undenine Redpine was paralyzed.
"Impossible... What is Princess Cosmo doing out here, so far from the Capital?" Then, he snorted. "It can't be her."
A fish-like Black Arms, Redpine's adjutant on the Great MetaSea, appeared in his eye. "But sire, she looks exactly like the Princess."
"Really?" replied Redpine. "In that case, we'll just kill her and pretend we never saw her."
And just as he was drawing Qyinlone's fist back...
"General Redpine, please stop!" the fishy Black Arms called out. "All of our transmissions are being recorded."
Redpine swore.
On the bridge of the Great Freedom, everyone watched in awe as the Qyinlone stood frozen in uncertainty for several seconds...
Then...
Turn and step back onto the Great MetaSea.
"His back is turned! His back is turned!" Bean shouted.
"Did our little princess really turn him back?" Rotor pondered.
"C'mon, missiles, don't be shy! FIRE!" Bean pounded at the fire controls again.
Still nothing.
Elias put his face in his hand. "I told you, they're not calibrated yet."
The Qyinlone faced the Great Freedom again.
"I am not running away, Möbians!" called out General Redpine. "I will be back! This time tomorrow! You got that?"
The Great MetaSea retracted back into its wall of water. Moments later, the walls of water dissipated into vapor. The Great MetaSea and the Qyinlone had vanished without a trace.
Stunned silence fell over the inert Great Freedom.
"What's a 'princess'?" Tails asked Sally.
Sally glared at Cosmo.
"A 'princess' is what you call the daughter of a king," she said darkly.
In the dining hall...
"You hear that?" Vector muttered. "Unbelievable. We got the daughter of the guy we're fighting on board."
"Should we lock her in the brig?" asked Elias.
"What's the plan, Knuckles?" Vector asked.
"Yeah, what are we gonna do...?" asked Big.
"Yeah! Tell us what we're gonna do!" Bark barked.
"We're gonna interrogate her tomorrow," Knuckles said, turning towards a human man with spiky brown hair. "Chris, was it?"
He nodded, "What is it?"
"You're on lookout duty for this guy comes around. Until the interrogation, we should treat her like nothing happened. And then, we're gonna put the screws to her and make her spill what she knows."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Who Is This 'Sonic'?
At the Royal Capital of Greengate, Undenine had fallen to his knees in prostration before his most powerful friend.
"General Undenine Redpine fled in the face of the enemy when he had a clear shot at vengeance?" Helix King Darkoak sneered. "What kind of joke is this?"
"Sir! The only reason I retreated was because those filthy Möbians were holding Princess Cosmo hostage."
"You great fool."
Undenine looked up in fear.
"I have cast her out," Darkoak said, fondling the chin of a Seedrian woman with pale-blue hair and a single white flower atop her head. Undenine knew she was Princess Cosmo's mother. "I no longer care what happens to her. You would have been better to step on her than to retreat."
"You... cast her out?" Undenine dared a glance up at the shadow sitting in the throne. His heart was pounding in his chest. "But... Lucus, you didn't tell me this."
"And you are seeking to use that to excuse your failure to set an example to these Möbians?"
"No, sir!"
"Undenine Redpine. You committed the grave offense of fleeing in the face of the enemy, all to save a girl who is no longer a Princess, squandering your one chance of revenge at these Möbians." Even with his head turned to the ground, Undenine heard the Helix King's smirk. "It's just too good."
And the Helix King laughed.
Undenine tried to recover his scraps of credibility.
"Please, Lucus! Give me another chance at the Möbians!"
"Oh? You are daring to tell me what to do?"
"No! Not in the slightest, Helix King!"
"Good. I see that you recall our relationship as a group changed fundamentally when we arrived on this planet. So, what was it that you were saying?"
"Helix King, I request that you allow me to set out alone in Qyinlone, and I will personally slay the Möbians and Princess Cosmo, and destroy the Great MetaFlare by this time tomorrow!"
A moment of contemplation...
And...
"No."
Undenine looked up at the Helix King, unable to believe what he'd heard.
"Lucus?"
"You have already demonstrated a hesitance to destroy Möbians when they present you with a Helix Princess," Darkoak said. "I do not want to risk the possibility of a repeat performance of this afternoon.
"The Compass Formation shall be dispatched tomorrow."
Undenine's heart skipped a beat.
"The... Compass Formation, sir? But... we are short one Meta-Gizoid. And one General."
"We have reserves," said Helix King Darkoak simply, and Undenine could only think of how callous he was being about the death of a friend he'd had for over two-thousand years. "Salasine. Gnonine. Bring forth the Provisional Helix General."
A whirlwind and a pillar of rock appeared and disappeared.
In their places, respectively, were Salasine Blacknarcissus, and Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf and...
Undenine glared deeply at the third figure, whom had appeared alongside Gnonine.
The Black Arms, Commander Shadow.
Now, General Shadow.
コスモ・ダークオーク
The next day, a full meal had been laid out, and practically every member of the Freedom Fighters had gathered to witness this interrogation.
If anything, it would turn out to be interesting.
Cosmo clasped her hands together over the meal laid before her. "Thank you for the food," she said smilingly.
"Thanks for the food!" Charmy cried, taking a drumstick.
"Thank you for the food," said Cream, her hands clasped like Cosmo's.
And Charmy had already started to dig into his drumstick.
"I can't cut my food," said Cream.
"Let me help you out," Cosmo said.
Elias had no idea how to begin.
"So... Umm... Princess Cosmo?" he stumbled out.
"Oh! Do you want some food, too?" She held out a fork laden with spaghetti, tipped with a meatball. Cosmo smiled, "Open wide!"
Awkwardly, Elias conceded, and as soon as the food entered his mouth...
"Delicious! Whoever cooked this is a great chef!"
"That would be me, Elias," Meg said, waving a hand in the air at Elias.
"I-I shouldn't have expected less from you, Meg!" Elias said, realizing that Meg being a good cook in addition to being pretty and nice and stuff made glad he was...
No. Not yet. They could think about that sort of stuff when they took down the Helix King.
"This food is tasty?" Big asked.
"Really?" asked Bark.
And Knuckles exploded, grabbing a drumstick as well.
"ARE YOU GUYS IDIOTS?" he slammed the drumstick against the table. "WHY DID YOU ROLL OUT THE WELCOME WAGON LIKE THIS? THIS IS AN INTERROGATION!"
Cosmo shrunk back slightly, Charmy and Cream both cowering at Knuckles's display.
"Who... are you, sir?" she asked shakily.
A large grin crossed Knuckles's face.
"I thought you'd never ask!" he took a large bite from the drumstick. "I am Knuckles The Echidna, the eldest member of the Wandering Orphans, and the leader of the Freedom Fighters!"
"When did we decide that Knuckles was the leader?" Lobo asked Elias.
"I think he did, just now," Elias replied.
Knuckles gave the two of them withering looks.
Cosmo had recovered, giving Knuckles a smile.
"Okay! It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Knuckles."
Knuckles shook the drumstick at her.
"Look, just because you're cute and nice doesn't change the fact that you're the enemy."
"Wow, he's right!" Big said.
"Yeah, the little girl's the enemy!" Bark growled.
"She's the enemy!" the two pilots of Double Bruiser put opposing fists in the air.
Knuckles nodded, grinning.
And then Cosmo asked...
"Mr. Knuckles... What is an 'enemy'?"
Knuckles face-faulted into the table. Regaining his composure, he flailed his fists about.
"An enemy is a bad person! Someone you gotta beat the crap out of!"
Cosmo looked politely puzzled.
"'Beat the crap out of'... what does that mean?"
Knuckles's jaw dropped, the drumstick falling onto the linen of the tablecloth. He began to gesticulate wildly again.
"Well... It's when you take your fist, and you belt the guy, and..."
"What does 'fist' mean?"
Knuckles's arms went slack.
"Well, a fist is when you go like this with your hand, and you hit someone with it."
"Why would you do that to somebody?"
"Because that 'somebody' pissed me off!"
"What does 'pissed off' mean?"
"WHEN YOU GET ANNOYED!"
Meg smirked, "He's trying to interrogate her..."
Blaze couldn't help smiling as well, "But she is interrogating him instead."
Marine grinned, "Big Bro Knux is not so bonzer around her type o' girl."
"BUTT OUT!" Knuckles yelled at his three surrogate sisters, who leapt to the ceiling in shock.
Cosmo looked rather pleased and concerned at the same time.
"Well, Mr. Knuckles, you have a fiery temper, but you have answered all of my questions and you do not... umm... 'piss me off' at all." She smiled brightly. "Thank you! This has been very informative."
Knuckles raised his arms like a strong man, grinning widely. "Well, I am the leader, so it's only natural!"
The Great Freedom Fighters around Knuckles made noises of disapproval.
Knuckles frowned.
Elias snickered a little, approaching his sister. "Well, that was a bust." He glanced at Cosmo. "Maybe she isn't as much of a threat as we thought. I mean, that one Gizoid did attack both her and Tails."
"Don't be fooled just because she's cute, Elias," said Sally sharply. "There are just as many pretty girls out there who don't want to spill your guts on the ground."
Elias gave Sally a look of concern.
ゴルディオンハンマー
The bladed crest had been removed; it served no purpose for this upgrade. Additionally, Shadow did not want to look at that helmet that That Blue Hedgehog had stolen from his ARK. He would not rest until the Gizoid called Freedom Emerl was smashed into inconstituent particles of light.
The Gizoid's framework had been super-reinforced as well, to be able to withstand tenfold the stress of the original Gizoid. It would need to.
With its new weapon.
On its left side, it now bore two arms.
But on the right, the two arms joined into one at the elbow.
The white Gizoid's sleek body turned yellow and bulky where the two right arms met and became one.
And in its single right hand...
It took the weapon that its old master had failed to kill That Blue Hedgehog with.
"Hammer connected," said Shadow from within the cockpit...
And ARK-Hephaestus came to life, standing erect upon the deck of the four-armed white-and-silver-painted mechanical goliath.
Klaxons blared.
"What is it? I didn't even activate the Hammer!" Shadow called out.
General Blacknarcissus appeared in his left eye. "That fool Redpine launched early! And it will take another five minutes to launch!"
General Pale-Bayleaf appeared in his right eye. "So Undenine has a headstart. Perhaps we will cross paths on his way back to the Capital. The plan does not change. Shadow, your role is as a substitute for Syne. Do not disappoint us."
"I will not, Generals," Shadow said, as the two Helix Generals disappeared from his vision.
Shadow burned with anger.
"Blue hedgehog, the man who wielded this weapon may have failed to kill you..." Shadow snarled. "But enjoy your last moments. Today, you will face your end... at my hand... and at General Yellowzelkova's... with this... the GOLDION HAMMER!"
石像
It was dark in Tails's room, the only light came from the hallway, and the only furnishings - apart from the bed - were several rock statues carved in the likeness of a hedgehog with pointed shades. A few were very rough, one or two even shattered, but most of them could have been found in a town square.
"So this is the Sonic you spoke of?"
Tails leapt into the air in shock, shouting as he did so.
Cosmo had wandered in while he was working, smiling at his handiwork.
But he didn't see it.
"I'm crazy, aren't I? Knuckles says I'm a lost cause," he said, returning to his work.
"No, you're not crazy," Cosmo replied. "I can tell from looking at this. It's clear how much you loved this person."
"Sorry about this, Tails," Sally said, standing by the door. "The interrogation didn't work out, and she wanted to see you."
"Knuckles told me many things about what an 'enemy' is, and how you 'beat the crap' out of them with your 'fist' when they 'piss you off'," Cosmo said seriously, and even in Tails's state, he couldn't help but give Cosmo an odd glance. "He then explained the many things that my father was doing on the surface. But I do not believe that my father would do such horrible things without reason. And at the same time, I do not think that you and your people and the other Möbians are bad."
"We didn't do anything," Tails said, stopping with his drill-spinning. "He's the bad guy here."
"Do you hate my father?"
"Of course I do."
Cosmo's eyes glistened in hurt way. "Do you hate me as well?"
"I don't know anything about you, Cosmo."
"Why is it that you fight them, Tails?"
"It was because I had Sonic with me," Tails said, staring at his feet. "He was there to believe in me, so I could fight with him there."
"I would like to know about him," said Cosmo, smiling sadly. "Who is this 'Sonic'?"
機動
"If we don't get this thing moving quickly, a lot more than tears will be spilt," Rotor said, fiddling around under a control panel in the Great Freedom's bridge.
"Aren't you worried about Tails, Rotor?" asked Silver, holding out a tool chest.
Rotor poked out, soot across his face. "We're all working hard, aren't we? Wrench."
"Wrench," Silver handed over the requested tool. "But, Tails..."
"Emerl won't activate anymore. If it's because its pilot has lost the will to live, I'm sorry, but it's probably got the right idea. Best to keep Tails away from battle, for his own good. Maybe it'd better for him to go back to Knothole."
Then Rotor spotted a pair of wires, disconnected from each other. Both were quite thick.
"Hmm..." Making sure his rubber gloves were on, Rotor took the two wires... "Could this be it...?" ...and connected them.
Great Freedom's engine rumbled.
He smiled. "She lives again."
お前のXXXで…
"So he died in battle," Cosmo said solemnly. "No wonder everyone here hates me."
"No one here hates you, Cosmo," Tails said morosely. "I don't think Sonic fought out of hatred. No matter how tough the battle, he was always laughing. I think, he was..."
"A man whose stupidity knew no bounds," cut in Sally, a faint smile crossing her face. "I'm sorry. Keep talking."
"This was before we met you, Sally," Tails said. "It was our last big escape attempt before I found my Core Drill. We were all digging our way out of Knothole Village, but there was a cave-in, and we got trapped."
Sally's eyes widened, facing Tails, "I know this-..."
"Huh?"
After a pregnant pause, Sally shook her head. "Never mind. Keep going."
"The path behind us caved in, and everyone lost hope. We thought we were going to die. I thought I was going to be buried alive, just like Mom and Dad. But Sonic didn't lose it. He urged us on, going, 'Onwards and upwards, men!', laughing all the while. My hands stopped shaking. When I focus on drilling, I can... hear the soil calling out to me. 'It's softer this way!' or 'Try digging over here!'. I follow their advice as I dig.
"But if we'd had given up that day, we all would have died. It was all because of Sonic that we didn't give up. That's how he always was. He's the only reason we got out that day, the only reason I can do anything. Without him, I'm just a waste of space. I can't do anything anymore."
Cosmo noticed a sad, knowing look on Sally's face, and Sally looked away.
"That's not true," Cosmo said to Tails. "You rescued me all by yourself, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but..."
"You are so strong on your own, Tails. Why do you want to die and become Sonic?"
"Because I'm not strong. I'm not strong at all. Everyone back at Knothole Village always stayed away from me because I'm weird and smell bad. But Sonic, he was the only one who'd hang out with me who didn't make fun of me. He was strong, and kind, and big. That's why... I tried to become like Sonic, but it was no use."
"Tails, you cannot bring back someone who is already gone!" Cosmo said, looking irritated. "You have your own personhood, and you cannot throw it aside. You are you, Tails! And you have things that only you can do."
"But..." Tails looked away, at his busts of Sonic. "You're only saying that because you didn't know Sonic."
"I am sorry, but I cannot get to know a dead person," Cosmo said bluntly. "But... you also cannot rely on a dead person, either."
"Cosmo...!" Tails breathed, his eyes burning.
"That's enough," Sally snapped, stepping into Tails's room. "You have no idea what we're going through because Sonic's gone. What Tails is going through. What I'm going through!"
"I may not be able to know this Sonic, but I understand Tails," Cosmo said emphatically. "He is his own person, and he can do things just fine on his own!"
Sally grabbed Cosmo's arms.
"Don't...! Don't talk like you're some innocent bystander in all this, Princess!" Sally shouted. "You know perfectly well whose fault it is that Sonic's dead!" Sally's eyes began to shed tears. "So don't you dare stand there and calmly lecture him!" She got in close to Cosmo's face, almost nose-to-nose (except Cosmo didn't have one). "So, why don't you tell us what's going on in your head?"
"Me...?" Cosmo's eyes shone with an emotion that Sally was startled to see: hurt. It wasn't the same hurt that she was feeling with Sonic's death, but it was still tremendous. Her woman's instinct taking over, she released Cosmo.
"I don't remember you being there, Ms. Sally," Cosmo explained. "A few days ago, I asked my father, 'Why was I born?'. I felt Father's heart go cold. And the next time I awoke, I was inside that box. I panicked, and passed out. Then, I felt wetness striking my cheek. I awoke, and there was Tails."
"Where are you going with this?" Sally asked.
"I want... to know more. About you, Ms. Sally, and about Tails, and about Sonic, and about the Great Freedom Fighters, and about Möbians, and about the surface." Cosmo's brows furrowed. "I want to know more!"
And the Great Freedom shook again.
"Everyone, the guy from yesterday is back!" called out Chris over the PA system.
A moment later, Redpine's voice boomed out.
"I have returned, Möbians, just as I promised!" It took on a slightly gentler tone. "Now, I'm a bit short on time, so could you let me speak with my princess, Cosmo?"
Tails turned to Cosmo. "Cosmo...!"
"I will go," she said. "I want to know why..."
And she left.
Sally left as well, leaving Tails to his thoughts and statues.
燃えてばかりでいいのかい?
"I'm glad to see you safe, Princess Cosmo," said General Redpine from his Qyinlone. Great MetaSea was resting on Great Freedom's bow as it was twenty-four hours before. Walls of water had surrounded the Great Freedom again.
Behind her, Cosmo could not have known that Sally, reaching her sniper's position, had pointed Nicole square on the back of her head...
"Undenine, I have a question to ask of you," Cosmo said, a sour look on her face. "Are you and Father's other servants making the people down on the surface suffer?"
Qyinlone knelt, the crimson plates around its crotch area parting, the cockpit of Qyinlone extending out on a pole, opening up just before Cosmo.
"It is as you say," Redpine said, kneeling his head before Cosmo. "They are the orders of the Helix King."
"Father ordered you to do this?"
"Yes. We cannot allow Möbians to live on the surface."
"And you did not question these orders?"
"Question them? Never. In all the time I've known your father, he's never led us astray. We've willfully obeyed far more horrible orders from him. The Möbians are nothing more than garbage, and it's our job to ensure that the landfills don't overflow."
On the bridge of Great Freedom, Knuckles grimaced, "Garbage, you say?"
"But these people have done no wrong!" Cosmo protested. "They only wish to live on the surface in peace."
"They killed Syne, Cosmo," Redpine said, shaking his head sadly. "That alone should be reason enough."
"They did? But, from what I have heard, he killed someone they call Sonic before he was..." Cosmo's brows furrowed again. "I will discuss this matter with my father. Undenine, I order you to take me back to the Capital at once!"
And Undenine Redpine dropped the act.
"If you wanna go to the Capital, take your own sorry ass there!"
Cosmo's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
Redpine leaned in. "Let me make it clear. You're not a Princess anymore! Lucus has abandoned you, cut you off, thrown you out!"
All about the Great Freedom, eyes widened, hands flew to mouths, and Sally's sniper aim shifted ever so slightly...
"I don't know what you did to piss him off so much, but he told me to kill you along with the rest of the Möbian worms!"
Cosmo was shellshocked.
"Abandoned me? Kill me? Father ordered you to kill me?"
In Tails's room...
"He... abandoned her? His own daughter? He wants her dead?"
Tails's grip on his digging dril tightened.
"Sonic... I... I...!"
Back on the deck...
"That's a lie!" Cosmo shouted at Redpine. "Father would never order you to do that!"
"Oh, he wouldn't, would he?" Redpine said, the cockpit retracting into Qyinlone's pelvis. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not!" Qyinlone stood erect, lifting a foot over Cosmo. "You're gonna be dead either way!"
Cosmo shielded herself in the shadow of Qyinlone's foot.
Then...
"Ah-ah-ahh! Not so quickly, Undenine!" came another voice.
Redpine swore.
And as an effeminate laugh swept over them all, the walls of water surrounding the Great Freedom became a dome of water, which dissipated into vapor...
And a tremendous shadow fell over the Great Freedom. It was a dark-purple flying machine as large as either the Great Freedom or the Great MetaSea, shaped like a large letter 'X', a face in the angle facing the Great Freedom. A large, spherical cluster of blue lights glowed on its underbelly, along with two weapons batteries on long limbs tucked away like a bird in flight.
飛行要塞母空型ギゾイド
グレイトメタウィンド
Aerial Carrier Fortess Gizoid
Great MetaWind
"Princess Cosmo's screams would be more visible on a much grander stage!" said that voice again, coming from a large Gizoid hovering down from it. "A stage that shall be provided by me, the most magnificent of the Helix Generals, Salasine Blacknarcissus!"
This Gizoid was black, with a blue-green cape, three horns on its head, and four purple orbs on its body: one that encompassed its entire face, one on its chest, and one on each shoulder, beneath shoulder pads. In its left hand was a staff ending in a large, round mirror.
サラシン・ブラックナルキッソス専用カスタムギゾイド
チョークゥエ
Salasine Blacknarcissus's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid
Zheuque
"A stage that shall be an exquisite gallows in the sky!" called out General Blacknarcissus.
On Great Freedom's bridge, everyone had gone white.
"What the...?" Elias breathed.
"The radar is registering an enormous Gizoid hovering overhead!" Blaze shouted. "It's releasing swarms of flying Gizoids!" Another large blip on the radar, and Blaze broke out in sweat. "Th-there's another, emerging from the sand behind us!"
A pale-green dome of metal emerged behind the Great Freedom, a metallic face grimacing at them.
難攻不落要塞ギゾイド
グレイトメタロック
Impregnable Fortress Gizoid
Great MetaRock
"So, it's an all-out battle," Knuckles growled.
"Without Freedom Emerl, this battle is hopeless!" cried out Rotor.
Reaching the deck of Great Freedom, Zheuque grabbed Cosmo out from under Qyinlone's foot.
Redpine grimaced.
Blacknarcissus grinned. "Those who defy the Helix King shall serve as an example of what to expect. That is what Lucus demands!"
Cosmo struggled to free herself. "What are you going to do?"
Another voice, this one from the Great MetaRock, rang out.
"We will execute all of you," it said. "I am the Helix General Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf. Foolish Möbians, do you really think that just because you acquired the Great MetaFlare, that you hold the key to victory?"
Atop the Great MetaRock, stood Pale-Bayleaf's Gizoid. It was a pale blue-green, an off-green cape hanging from each shoulder pad. Three dark-blue-green orbs went up his Gizoid's torso like buttons on a shirt, three eyes of the same color on its horned, insectoid head. In each hand was a menacing hooked sword.
ノニン・ペールベイリーフ専用カスタムギゾイド
ズワンウーオ
Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf's Exclusive Use Custom Gizoid
Xuanwuo
Pale-Bayleaf continued, "We will demonstrate to every Möbian on the surface, and underground, just what happens to fools!"
And countless flying Gizoids in the sky activated cameras. And all around Möbius, in villages on the surface, villages that had openings to the surface, and villages that did not believe the surface even existed, images of the Helix King's Generals' Meta-Gizoids appeared.
And Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf's voice echoed around the globe:
"Every fool who comes to the surface, every fool who rises up against Helix King Lucus Darkoak, even if that fool is his own daughter, he will have them killed without a spare thought. That is how the Helix King works. And this planet need only cower before his absolute power!"
In all this time, the Gizoid pilots had gotten to their machines, and they had the resolve to fight.
For Cosmo.
For Möbius.
"So, he thinks he can do what he wants to us," Knuckles growled from his King Knuckles. "He would throw out his own daughter and then try to have her killed? That's something I can't stand for!"
The other pilots gave their assent to Knuckles's declaration.
"Let's show them the fighting spirit of the Wandering Orphans!" called out Meg from the Eliastriker.
"We're not called Black Arms Hunters for nuthin', mates!" shouted Marine from the koala-shaped Super Marine.
Lupe's voice called out from the communications terminal in the engine room, "Great Freedom engine at critical output! We're ready down here when you are, Rotor!"
"Your timing couldn't be better, Lupe," replied Rotor. "We're in a bit of a pinch up here. We've got no real choice. Elias!"
"Gotcha!" Elias shouted.
"I got it! All cannons, fire!" Bean pounded on the controls.
"You idiot! Cosmo's still out there!" Elias shouted in a panic.
Rotor cut in, "No. The cannons are still..."
The cannons still were not fully calibrated. Only puffs of smoke came out.
Blacknarcissus laughed, Zheuque ascending back to the Great MetaWind's airspace.
"I won't let you have her!" Sally shouted, firing Nicole at Blacknarcissus's Gizoid.
"Your pitiful shots will not work on my Zheuque!" Blacknarcissus replied, as his Zheuque left any danger from Sally's shots.
The Great MetaSea reared up, Qyinlone returning to the Meta-Gizoid's hangar.
"Möbian scum!" boomed Redpine's voice from the Great MetaSea. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson in the fury of Undenine Redpine!"
And Great MetaSea, its jaws opening wide, took half of the Great Freedom's prow into its mouth before any of the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade could deploy, the hangar doors closing in this emergency. Great Freedom's Catapult Arms attempted to push it off, but Great MetaSea's crab claws clasped its hands tightly.
And it reared up again, taking Great Freedom wholy off the ground, sending on a direct course for the Great MetaWind, tearing off Great Freedom's right arm in the process.
People in the Great Freedom were plastered against the walls from the force of the throw. The Gizoids flew about the hangar in a frenzy.
The extended weapons batteries on Great MetaWind's underside kicked the Great Freedom towards the Great MetaRock.
Great MetaRock spun like a top, sending the Great Freedom flying...
And Great Freedom's prow was impaled by an identical prow, only silver and white instead of yellow.
There, on the Great Freedom's starboard side, was an identical Meta-Gizoid, but painted in silver and white, its four arms crossed across its chest. Its observation tower resembled a very familiar bladed crest...
仮説巨大地上戦艦型ギゾイド
グレイトメタアーク
Provisional Mobile Fortress Gizoid
Great MetaARK
"How did that taste, you dirty animals?" called out a familiar voice from Great Freedom's sinister twin. "This is my newly gained power as a Helix General: the Great MetaARK!"
Shadow could be seen in one of Great MetaARK's eyes.
Great MetaARK's four arms pushed Great Freedom towards Great MetaRock, which spun away from its position, revealing severely weakened earth. The Great Freedom sunk up to its waist.
"This empty wasteland will become your gravesite, Möbians!" Shadow called out.
On the bridge of Great Freedom, everyone managed to recover and return to their stations.
"The legs are buried!" Chris cried out. "We can't move!"
"A vast number of enemy Gizoids are incoming!" Blaze yelled.
Elias shouted at a screen showing the Great Freedom Fighters' Gizoid brigade, roughed up from being thrown about, but alright. "You guys, get out there and protect the Great Freedom!"
"Protect it?" asked Big, his face appearing.
"How can we do that?" demanded Bark, likewise.
"Just get out there and hope for the best!" Elias insisted.
Meanwhile, with the Great MetaARK, a Gizoid had been taken up in each of its four Catapult Arms.
"Gizoid Squad... launch!" Shadow ordered.
The four arms swung, and four Gizoids launched at the Great Freedom.
Two were knocked away almost instantly, one by Double Bruiser, and the other by Freedom.
"Not a bad swing, Pothead!" Vector called out from Vector Prime, pounding another Gizoid in the face.
But the Great MetaARK was not the only Meta-Gizoid releasing enemy Gizoids. Great MetaRock's heavily armored bombardment Gizoids opened fire, purple lasers scorching the hull of Great Freedom.
"All weapons are calibrated!" Rotor said. "Fire at will!"
"ALRIGHT! FIII~IRE!" shouted Bean, mashing the fire button.
The weapons platforms began to tear into the enemy forces, but there were just too many.
Espionaj, with no sniper available, had had its sniper seat replaced with a makeshift laser cannon. Mighty Fists fired on enemy Gizoids flying in from Great MetaWind. "We can't lose to them, not here!" Mighty yelled.
On Great Freedom's deck, Freedom was swinging its shades about at enemy Gizoids from all four enemy Meta-Gizoids.
There are too many of them, Silver thought. We can't take them all at once.
And then a white Gizoid with a large yellow right arm, carrying a large golden hammer, leapt at him.
Silver yelped in fright, and scrambled away, narrowly dodging the Goldion Hammer that ARK-Hephaestus was swinging.
And good thing, too. With each missed swing, ARK-Hephaestus's golden hammer left gouges in the Great Freedom's deck that glowed as brightly as the sun.
That was not a feature that Yellowzelkova had made use of.
"What's the matter?" ARK-Hephaestus's mouth moved in time to Shadow's voice as it pursued Freedom. "Don't tell me you've gotten sloppy, blue hedgehog?"
"You're making a huge mistake," muttered Silver, trying to dodge the golden hammer.
Across the deck, Xuanwuo, piloted by Gnonine Pale-Bayleaf, had made landfall.
King Knuckles dived at it. "TITANIUM HEAD DRIVER!"
But Xuanwuo dodged it. "You're fighting the wrong enemy, boy." It brought both swords up, blades glowing a pale, sickly-green light. "XUANWUO ENGRAVER!"
"Knuckles!" cried out both Meg and Marine, their Gizoids blasting the swords out of Xuanwuo's hands before it could swing. The blades shattered.
King Knuckles tore off away from Pale-Bayleaf's Gizoid.
And Xuanwuo generated a new pair of swords, leaping back to the Great MetaRock.
On top of Great Freedom, Lobo in O'Donnell swung his sword at any enemy Gizoid which flew too close.
But he could not get the Gizoids which were not flying by Great Freedom's body, or were too high to strike with his own sword.
Flying enemy Gizoids had begun bombardment of Great Freedom, taking out its main gun platforms.
Unshielding herself, Sally peered through the smoke.
"We can't win," she said. "They have us outnumbered in every way."
And Qyinlone landed on deck again, Redpine stepping out. Gizoid gunships set down on either side, dispatching dozens of Black Arms. These ones resembled aquatic life moreso than those under Yellowzelkova's command.
"Listen!" Sally heard Redpine command. "Don't damage the ship more than it has been. Just take out the trash!"
Sally fired Nicole at him here, where he was vulnerable...
And a field of red-orange spiraling energy appeared, deflecting the bullet.
"What was that?" Sally said.
This is the end, she thought. I never thought I'd see Sonic again so soon.
つづく
To be continued...
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In the heart of every person, there is a deep, dark hole.
One day, this hole becomes a new tunnel.
Next time on Tengen Toppa Freedom Emerl: "Why Do You Suppose We Were Born?"