Chapter 7: Chaos PT 2
Percy gasped, he knew this hedgehog was someone he should never mess with. The hedgehog hung his head down seemingly staring at the ground, then he walked like a zombie towards Percy.
"You engines are much more determined than I thought...I find it very interesting. But I know you'll all be easy to take out, oh yes." Mephiles said.
Percy could say nothing as Mephiles continued to walk towards him, his gloved claws scratching Percy's lamp. Percy didn't know whether to yell or race forward...he could only stay still, his driver and fireman had ran off in fear. After a few more moments of silence, Mephiles lifted his head up to stare into Percy's eyes.
"Your friends are doomed...they will never win. Last year was only luck...but you'll go down just like the others. How cruel the inevitable is..." Mephiles purred.
He tilted his head as Percy's eyes stay locked on to his own. Finally Percy gained the courage to speak.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Percy asked.
"Oh just because I love the effects of chaos and destruction...I crave it...and I will do it all. That blue hedgehog will not defeat me...and I figured going after his newest allies would help him see how he's on the losing team. That blue engine will be of some great use to me...and I know you all are holding info from me about what's beyond those buffers. Something that keeps this island alive...keeps people coming...KEEPS YOU WINNING!" Mephiles growled.
"NO!" Percy shouted.
Percy backed up a bit letting off steam.
"GIVE IT UP!" Mephiles floated into the air.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Percy yelled.
He chose to race forward and thankfully miss a orb that was shot from Mephiles' hand. Mephiles chased Percy down another line away from the Steamworks.
"YES! RUN! RUN YOU LITTLE GREEN PEST!" Mephiles shouted.
He continued to fire shots around Percy instead of directly hitting him. Percy screamed and whistled as he moved onto different points and sped faster and faster. No other engines were around though Percy figured he would run into Gordon since he was on the main line. Mephiles flew closer and scratched his claws across Percy's side.
"OOOWWW!" Percy winced.
Percy was hoping Sonic or one of the others were around, but unfortunately they weren't. Some trucks were sitting in a siding and the points were switched to it.
"Oh no!" Percy gasped.
Mephiles then shoots an orb at the trucks blowing them up and the force knocks Percy off the rails and he slides down a bank. Mephiles loses sight of him as Percy disappears under a lot of trees. Percy clipped a few of them and loss control swerving around, hitting rocks and finally bouncing off a ledge. Nearby, Sonic and Metal were still racing around when they spotted Percy go flying from one ledge, over a pair of tracks and down another bank.
"Whoa...how the hell did that happen?" Sonic asked.
Metal detected someone else coming and waited for it. When it was time, Metal raced forwards and managed to tackle Mephiles onto the ground hard creating a large cloud of dust. Sonic winced and remembered Percy was in trouble.
"METAL, I'LL GET PERCY! YOU STOP WHOEVER THAT IS!" Sonic called out.
Without waiting for an answer, Sonic took off down the bank to catch up with Percy who was still sliding down. Sonic raced in front of him and Percy was happy to see the blue blur.
"SONIC!" Percy yelled.
"HOLD ON PERCY!"
Sonic could see another small ledge up ahead and below were tracks. Sonic then gathered up his strength and spindashed into Percy's side knocking the small engine a bit into the air and landing right next to the tracks.
"Barely made it." Sonic sighed.
Paxton was coming by with some trucks and just saw the last of the action, he stopped confused.
"Oh my...what just happened?" Paxton asked.
"Um...it's a long story. Which reminds me, I need to make sure Metal is okay...wow...I never thought I'd say that." Sonic shrugged.
"I'll go get Rocky." Paxton said.
"Thanks Paxton!" Percy said.
Meanwhile, Metal and Mephiles were duking it out in the sky as they raced around. They were currently grappling with each other trying to push the other away. They spiraled around the sky in a streak of blue and purple.
"UGH! LET GO OF ME YOU SCRAPHEAP!" Mephiles growled.
"NOT UNTIL YOU LEAVE THIS ISLAND!" Metal growled back.
Sonic followed the streaks but is suddenly sidetracked when the ground below him starts to rumble. He could hear people screaming in the distance.
"HELP! THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER!"
"HELP! IT'S A GIANT MONSTER!"
"RRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
Sonic recognized that roar...but something didn't seem right...he needed to get to the docks quick. At the docks it was complete chaos...literally. All the engines and workmen had evacuated, except for poor Cranky who had ended up knocked down. There in the distance of the water...was a clone of Perfect Chaos, it had a purple glow around it...meaning it was created by Mephiles. Perfect Chaos had shot one of it's water tentacles and knocked Cranky down. Sonic arrived at the docks and looked horrified.
"No...it can't be. But it's just a clone, Chaos has no reason to absorb the negative power of the chaos emeralds anymore." Sonic said.
Perfect Chaos seemed to notice Sonic and roar at him.
"YOU'RE GOING DOWN AGAIN!" Sonic promised.
Suddenly Shade teleported beside him.
"Whoa...hey that looks like Chaos. But he's with Tikal." Shade said.
"Where are they?"
"I gave them a map of good places to film the rest of their movie, and I heard the roar so I came to help." Shade said.
"No need, I've defeated this guy twice already! I already know how to defeat him!" Sonic smirked.
"He could try something new this time though." Shade warned.
"We'll just see about that." Sonic adjusted his gloves.
"Hmm...Sonic have you seen Thomas lately?"
"Strangely no...I'm getting a little worried." Sonic said.
"Well I'll go look for him." Shade said.
After Shade teleported away, Sonic went into action knowing he needed to boost into the bottom of Perfect Chaos's body and spiral up through his head, but of course along the way he would have to dodge any blasts Perfect Chaos threw at him. Meanwhile, Metal and Mephiles found their way to Knapford Station where everyone had ran off after the two ended up destroying the station during their brawl. Metal had thrown Mephiles into a support beam and the hedgehog did it back.
"I'LL END YOU HERE!" Mephiles growled.
"AS IF!" Metal scratched under his nose.
Mephiles sent some orbs towards Metal who dodged them and they damaged more of the station and broke all the windows. As they kept fighting, they failed to notice Toby who was just coming by.
"Oh my...the station is destroyed." Toby gasped.
Then he saw Metal and Mephiles looking right at him.
"Do you mind?" Mephiles growled.
"Kinda busy here!" Metal groaned.
Toby says nothing and quickly leaves the awkward moment. Once he's gone, Metal tackles Mephiles back into the sky and they go flying towards the Smelter's Yard. Mephiles grabs Metal and makes him break his fall as they hit the rails hard. Metal got up seeing he was still fully intact. Mephiles floated up onto his feet laughing evilly.
"HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA! You fool, I cannot be so easily defeated. I'm immortal after all...it'll take more than you to defeat me. I will discover what keeps this island alive and I will destroy it...you won't stand in my way." Mephiles vowed.
"I'll fight you until I run out of power...and I'm nowhere near that." Metal said.
"You're strong I'll give you that...but I'll still win. I don't even need my powers to beat you!" Mephiles growled.
Metal flexed his claws and balled them into fists.
"Bring it on." Metal said.
Mephiles raced at Metal and punched him in the face almost hard enough to make a dent, Metal only skidded back a bit. Metal retaliated by punching Mephiles in the gut, only for the evil being to head-butt the robot. Metal lunged back to claw him in the but Mephiles grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground. Metal jumped back up and back-handed Mephiles away.
"That all ya got?" Mephiles laughed.
"You're about to find out!" Metal growled.
The two lunge at each other. Meanwhile, Tikal had sensed a strange energy near one of the sidings and she and Chaos were following it. They had ended up by the magic buffers and Tikal touched them.
"The energy is here...I can feel it, it's really strong. But what's causing it?" Tikal wondered.
Suddenly they hear a rumble, the sound of an engine coming from behind. They turn to see Thomas looking at them confused and cautious. Tikal gasped and Chaos instinctively got in front of her making Thomas back up a bit.
"Wait Chaos...this engine...I can feel the same energy from those buffers...on him." Tikal said.
Chaos backed off and Tikal went to touch Thomas' front deck. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"I sense good in you...lots of it. Are you the guardian of these buffers?" Tikal pointed to them.
"I guess you could say that...whoever that crystal hedgehog is...I can't let him get near them again. My name is Thomas." Thomas said.
Chaos nodded in respect, he even removed his sunglasses. Tikal sighed and smiled bigger.
"My name is Tikal and this is Chaos. Thomas, you can't do this alone, I know you care deeply for the hidden secrets within them...but I fear if you don't require help...it may be too late." Tikal said.
Thomas looked down in shame, he should've been able to trust Sonic enough to tell him the secrets...but what if the enemy was listening? He bit his bottom lip and let off some steam.
"But what if...if..."
"Thomas...please...I know danger is approaching. If anything, the help you truly seek may come from beyond those buffers. You need to be able to tell Sonic and his friends." Tikal said.
Thomas knew she was right...and it was best to find them now.
"Okay...I will..." Thomas smiled.
Unknown to them...a certain black hedgehog was listening in on them as Thomas began to reveal what the buffers truly led to. Needless to say he was very surprised.
"Hmph...magical engine?"
Back with Sonic, he had successfully damaged Perfect Chaos twice and he was tiring out. Perfect Chaos had managed to hit him a few times with it's water tentacles and energy projectiles. But Sonic had pressed through with Cranky and people nearby cheering for him. Sonic raced off the dock and boosted across the water as one of the water tentacles raced at him. Sonic leaped up high and gets smacked upwards.
"HAH! THANKS FOR THE LIFT!" Sonic yelled.
He spindashed into the watery brain of Perfect Chaos one last time and the sudden impact blew it up.
"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
In an instant, Perfect Chaos was destroyed, though the explosion of water poured onto the docks flooding it for a few seconds drenching Cranky.
"Ugh...bleh!" Cranky said.
Sonic laughed as Cranky spit out some water. Several water drops exploded into purple particles that faded away.
"Ugh...I hope that's the end of those clones." Sonic said.
Now he worried if Metal was doing alright, he needed to get back to him quickly. Back at the Smelter's Yard, Metal was losing the fight, no matter how hard he fought back, Mephiles would not go down. His systems were winding down as Mephiles kept punching him.
"YOU WEAK USLESS RUSTBUCKET! YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE!" Mephiles punched him again.
Metal staggered towards the back of the building where the melting pit was. Metal managed to punch Mephiles 4 more times before Mephiles tackled him and pummeled him in the face. After a few seconds he dragged Metal to the edge of the track and held him above the melting pit.
"It's been a good fight...but you bore me." Mephiles said.
But before he could drop him, Mephiles is rammed into knocking him away and the saver grabs Metal and the two teleport away. Mephiles gets up seeing he was alone.
"UGH! NO MATTER...I STILL GOT SOME SURPRISES FOR THEM! I'LL DESTROY THIS DAMN ISLAND...AND TAKE THE POWER THOSE ENGINES ARE HIDING WITH ME!" Mephiles promised.
He flew out of the Smelter's Yard figuring out his next plan. Back at the Steamworks, Tails had finished working on Kingape's ship, and when he finished, the radar popped on showing Dark Oak's location. Kingape gasped and started hopping around and clapping like a real monkey.
"I FOUND HIM! I FOUND HIM! I'M COMING MASTER!" Kingape cheered.
The signal wasn't that far away. Kingape and Tails raced over to a small wooded area near the Steamworks and saw something sparking. They discover the body of Dark Oak, he was just waking up too.
"MASTER?" Kingape said.
Dark Oak sat up and looked at them.
"What happened?" He asked.
"You were passed out sir, the others sent for me to find you and then let them know." Kingape said.
Dark Oak noticed Tails and immediately stood up.
"YOU! I DON'T NEED YOU AND THAT ANNOYING HEDGEHOG GETTING IN MY WAY!" Dark Oak growled.
"We're not, we're trying to-"
"I DON'T CARE! Now then...I'm getting out of here...I don't know who decided I should be sent back here, BUT WHEN I FIND OUT WHO DID IT I'LL-"
Suddenly, some red orbs come towards them and they all dodge.
"Who threw that?" Tails wondered.
Looking out into the clearing...he gasped when he saw a familiar evil knight looking right at him.
"WHAT? KING ARTHUR? BUT WE KILLED YOU!" Tails shouted.
Kingape and Dark Oak came out into the clearing as well. King Arthur swung his sword threateningly...strangely he was missing his scabbard.
"Indeed you did...but I've been revived by him!"
King Arthur pointed a claw to Mephiles who stood nearby chuckling, then he vanished. Tails realized that hedgehog may be the cause of everything.
"AAHH! WHO IS HE?" Kingape gasped.
"HE MUST BE THE ONE WHO SENT ME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Dark Oak growled.
He took out his own sword threateningly. King Arthur laughed.
"Hah...you think that sword could hurt me?"
"YOU'RE GONNA FIND OUT VERY SOON!"
"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"
Dark Oak and King Arthur immediately get into a swordfight while Tails and Kingape face-palm.
"Um...what now?" Tails asked.
"I need to contact the other commanders..." Kingape raced to his ship.
"Well I need to contact Sonic. If we're going to defeat that hedgehog and save this island...and possibly you all...we all need to work together...we could use all the help we can get." Tails said.
Kingape turned to him and crossed his arms.
"Like the Metarex would help our enemies...besides we have nothing to do with this. Especially me, I don't like to fight, I'm more of the trapping kind." Kingape said.
"Oh come on, don't you want to prove to Dark Oak that you can be pretty tough in combat too?" Tails asked.
Kingape realized he had a point...he was always a coward...maybe it was time to step it up. Tails held out a hand.
"Truce...until this is all over..." Tails said.
Kingape hesitated at first...but gave in eventually. He flexed his sharp claws then shook Tails' hand.
"Deal."
To be continued...