Mobius Prime…
Freedom Fighter HQ
"There, that should do it," Tails finished and wiped sweat from his forehead, having secured the last metal with a torch blower.
Sally and the Freedom Fighters gathered round at their achievement with pride. They've made the final adjustments on the Special Zone Treadmill, a revised version of the Special Zone portal designed to pull Amy, Knuckles, Monkey Khan, and Espio out of the dimension they fell into.
"We're all ready to test it?" Sally asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be, sugar," Bunnie winked. With that, Nicole pulled up a series of holograms for Bunnie to access, "System's online, linked up…" As the soon as the algorithms are processed, the portal at the center of the Special Zone Treadmill opened. Inside, what could only be described as a black hole condensed.
"Aaaaannnndddd this is why I need to stop playing those Fantasy Zone games at the arcade, even though they're so addicting," Sonic cracked. "Then again, these new indie games are like Freedom Planet. You know, the game where it stars a dragon girl in a planet different from ours?" He turned to Sally and spoke seriously, "But seriously, we're doing okay, Sal?"
Sally nodded with a shrug, "Who would ever argue about practical solutions?" Her expression shared Sonic's, "Right now, we can save time in the arcade for later. We've got work to do." She turned to Tails, "Tails, you're up."
"Yes, ma'am," Tails complied by typing on the computer monitor. "Let's crank it up!"
As expected, when the Special Zone Treadmill activated, the energy drawn from Nicole's nanites becomes a bit larger.
Rotor calculated while working on his own monitor, "The Special Zone Treadmill should lock on to Amy, Knuckles, Espio, and Khan's signatures and pull them back."
Tails nodded, still operating his monitor, "Got it! Nicole's nanites are vibrating at the right frequency!"
Suddenly, a crackle of blue energy came from inside the portal. It soon cracked up an energy rift in the containment field.
Sally reacted, "What's going on?"
Tails noted as he checked the panel, "Containment field's up, but the levels are spiking! It's getting unstable!"
The two-tailed fox was right as the containment field was overflowing with energy. Rotor, Tails, and Bunnie went over the control panel together to control the situation.
"Shut it down!" Sally shouted. "Now!"
"It's okay!" Bunnie exclaimed. "We've got this!"
Unfortunately, the blue stream of energy zapped Bunnie as she suddenly disappeared.
Alternate Mobius…
Insurgency HQ
As Bunnie caught her breath, she quickly checked her new surroundings. She was no longer inside Freedom Fighter HQ, but instead some kind of underground cavern, meaning she accidently got sucked into that dimension.
"Wonderful," Bunnie said sarcastically. "Don't know whether to pat mahself on the back, or kick mahself in the…"
She stopped when she heard two familiar voices. She followed the tunnel, making sure to keep quiet until she reached the corner where the other voices emulated from around that bend. Bunnie didn't even need to glance over. She knew these voices all too well.
"I've supplied equipment from the One-Planet Regime I've borrowed, but we're short on personnel," the voice of Dr. Finitevus spoke. "We'll need the Egg Clan to carry out our operation."
"The Egg Clan?" the voice of Fang scoffed. "They're a bunch of wimpy Eggman fanboys. They wouldn't last five seconds."
Dr. Finitevus interjected, "But the chaos they create proves useful. They'll need more training if we were to take down Sonic. Now, the last order of business is the final modifications on the Raiden Giants before we begin the coup."
"That's all Ah needed to hear," Bunnie said silently before turning the corner and firing a ray from her arm cannon. Fang pushed Finitevus out the way as the blast nearly missed them. Bunnie tried to shoot Fang, but he dodged again.
"I thought you said this place was secure!" Fang yelled.
"Never mind that!" Finitevus shouted, retreating with his Warp Rings. "Just keep her busy!"
Fang stepped up and grinned, "With pleasure."
STAGE 1: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. FANG THE SNIPER (INSURGENCY)
Fang quickly sped towards Bunnie with his long thick purple tail's Bounce Attack, slamming Bunnie in the chest with a headbutt. Bunnie groaned in pain, but recovered. Turning around, she fired an arm laser blast at Fang which hit him in the face. Fang fired his laser sniper rifle, which Bunnie blocked with a small force field she activated, and Bunnie fired back with three fully charged laser blasts, hitting Fang. Fang tried to get closer to Bunnie, but when he finally got close enough, Bunnie extended her robotic legs, grabbed an overhead monitor, and smashed it right on top of Fang's body.
Fang groaned as he tried to get back up, but Bunnie quickly spun around and performed a series of punches towards Fang. The last blow was a powerful metal fist that sent him crashing into a computer a few inches away, where he bounced off it and into the ground. Before Bunnie could punch him, Fang blocked it and pushed her away from hm.
"Gonna take you down, sugar-weasel!" Bunnie smirked.
"Try me, sweet cheeks!" Fang responded.
With that, the two clashed. Bunnie was able to strike first, and Fang was sent flying backwards to a computer which exploded. Before Fang could recover, Bunnie flew and punched him right in the face. Bunnie then held Fang's shoulder, threw his body up in the air, and activated her machine gun laser arm cannon, causing Fang to yell in pain. And to deal the final blow, Bunnie charged her arm cannon 100% to fire a particle beam which hit Fang and devastated the surrounding area on impact. Surprisingly, Fang was still standing, but his fur was covered in smoke and his hat was burned to ashes. Fang was only able to stand for a few seconds before collapsing.
"Pleasure's all mine, Nack," Bunnie quipped. "Wish Antoine could see me now."
When a burst of powerful energy erupted, Bunnie turned to see Dr. Finitevus approaching.
"I'm afraid I may have outlived your invitation, Miss D'Coolette," Finitevus declared. "I'm going to ask you to hear my proposal."
"And if Ah don't wanna hear it?" Bunnie retorted.
Finitevus deadpanned, "One way or another, you'll listen to reason."
STAGE 2: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. DR. FINITEVUS (INSURGENCY)
Both enemies punched each other in the face, knocking the both of them out. Bunnie got up first and fired her arm cannon, which Finitevus blocked with his Warp Ring Shield. Before Finitevus could counterattack, Bunnie was able to kick him towards a nearby computer, and upon Finitevus's return bounce, Bunnie grabbed Finitevus and threw him to the other side of the room, where a robotic arm and laser was melding some sort of gargantuan robot not unlike Bunnie or any of her Freedom Fighters had seen during the Eggman War. And just like that, Bunnie knew what to do.
Bunnie quickly grabbed the laser nearby and redirected it straight in Finitevus's chest. She sped towards the white Echidna and punched him straight in the face with a metal fist. The punch was so hard; it sent him crashing through a vent that lead to an assembly room mass-producing all of the gargantuan robots. Finitevus tried to get up, only to have a giant metal block slam into his body, crushing him. The conveyer belt Finitevus found himself on sped onward as he was crushed again by another metal block. Finally, the conveyer belt flipped sideways, sending him flying to a robotic arm that swung around and knocked him to the right. He was smashed through several of the still-in-production robots hanging in front of him, and through another vent which led to the Insurgency's vehicle room, where a series of cars were parked on display.
Bunnie arrived, grabbed one of these cars, and threw it towards Finitevus, but he counterattacked with his Chaos Turret, destroying the projectile. Having recovered slightly, Finitevus was more agitated than ever.
"I'm getting too old for this!" Finitevus shouted.
"Care for a trip to a retirement home, old man?" Bunnie smirked.
The two clashed, Bunnie hitting Finitevus in the face first, sending him flying through another vent. However, this one led to a furnace which burned Finitevus's skin, making him scream in pain. Suddenly, the furnace exploded upon sensing Finitevus, flying him through the wall and into the Insurgency's meeting room. Finitevus tried to get up, but fell to the ground in exhaustion.
Bunnie observed the fallen villain with a smirk, "How'd ya like that, Mr. White Dreadlocks?"
"At ease, Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette," a voice called.
Bunnie turned to see the figures of Shadow, Hope Kintobor, and Bunnie's fellow missing Freedom Fighters approaching her. However, Bunnie realized this Shadow was different; he seemed older, and his body was bandaged and battle-worn.
"Shadow? Black sugar-hog?" Bunnie asked.
"Welcome to Evil Mobius, Bunnie," Amy greeted with a cheerful smile, while the others helped Finitevus and Fang up. "Well, sort of…"
"What the heck's goin' on here?" Bunnie questioned.
"It's a long story," Shadow admitted.
De-Commissioned G.U.N. Headquarters
High Councilor Sonic and Assistant High Councilor Amy approached the ruins of the cave laboratory, which had been decimated near the end of the Insurgency's mission to retrieve the Chaos Neutralizer. Julie-Su called a while ago, saying the Insurgency stole something. Something Sonic and Amy were unsure of, since Julie-Su and Naugus were knocked out before either could know.
"Shadow took a big risk coming back here," Amy told Sonic. "I wonder what he's after."
Sonic was about to give his thoughts when he suddenly felt pain. He groaned and collapsed to the ground.
"Sonic!" Amy cried as she caught him before he fell.
When Sonic recovered, he wiped something off his foot. It was light green powder scattered across the floor. It seemed harmless, but Sonic's senses connected to the Chaos Force were screaming at him. And for good reason. Sonic had seen this only once before during an incident with Dr. Eggman stealing the Master Emerald at Angel Island. Eggman absorbed and channeled the Master Emerald's power into a doomsday weapon, and the moment he fired it, Sonic, in his Super Sonic form, took the blow and ended up losing his Super form in the process. After all, the Master Emerald contains supernatural powers that neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds, and anyone connected to the Chaos Force, for that matter.
And despite the Master Emerald still remaining at Angel Island, Sonic finally understood what was going on. He had to act as quickly as possible.
"I need to flush them out," Sonic growled. "Now."
Insurgency HQ
Bunnie took a deep breath as Shadow and Hope Kintobor finished recapping the events of what was going on to her. It was hard enough to realize that the Bunnie of this world had done so much on this world. Heck, in this world, Bunnie shares the same IQ as Tails; she managed to come up with ideas of Space Harrier-styled teleportation! Bunnie had watched several science fiction films and made a list of things she wanted to do based on them: #1 was building a transporter, and #2 taking her husband Antoine on a world-crossing date.
Of course, this wasn't a fantasy Bunnie was living in. Apparently five years before, on this Mobius, Dr. Eggman managed to trick Sonic into killing his wife and unborn children, while simultaneously activating a nuke in New Mobotropolis, destroying the city and killing millions. The Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette of this world had become heartbroken and distraught when this world's Antoine D'Coolette was among the dead. Because of this, Bunnie was compelled to join Sonic's regime, thinking things would get better if they were enforcing the world again.
After Sonic's rise to power, small resistance movements tried to take his life. Bunnie threw herself in the way of a bomb for her, her body destroyed in the process, and only through the painful process of Legionization was she saved from death. This Bunnie is more machine than Mobian, twisted, unstable, and a willing lackey for Sonic's regime.
Remnants of Freedom Fighters and other heroes came together, led by this universe's Shadow to rebel against Sonic's regime, but Sonic and his One-Planet forces slaughtered almost all resistance. The only ones left opposing them were Shadow, Hope Kintobor, and this universe's Dr. Finitevus, who was secretly funding the Insurgency while working as a spy on the One-Planet Government. The Insurgency was responsible for the transport, as Shadow needed a Freedom Fighter's DNA to unlock a hidden final plan by G.U.N.; the Chaos Neutralizer. Unfortunately, the weapon had been damaged and they quickly needed to make repairs.
"So let me get this straight," Bunnie clarified. "I get to help you guys rev-up your transporter, fix the laser in our dimension…"
Amy added, "And come back with reinforcements. Together, we'll teach Evil Sonic and his cronies a thing or two!"
"There's no time," Insurgency Shadow interrupted. He approached the computer table and opened up the screen. Instantly, an image of Sonic the Hedgehog appeared before the press, standing in a podium during a news report televised planet-wide. Behind him was a banner with a pattern of the One-Planet Regime, and on his left and right were Amy and Enerjak, respectively.
This was hurting Bunnie the most. Bunnie always thought of Sonic as the brother she never had. She and Sonic were best friends since their Freedom Fighter years, and Sonic always showed much potential for good. Even when they had their differences, Bunnie couldn't help but respect Sonic's choices the same way she respected Sally's. But seeing Sonic like this, by the look of pure evil in his eyes, seeing what he could become if led down the wrong path… it actually scared Bunnie.
"Five years ago," Regime Sonic announced. "A tragic event cost the lives of millions. Overwhelmed by guilt for the part he played in the destruction, one of our own turned against us. He was driven mad and became an agent of chaos; an enemy of peace and security, striking from the shadows. But no longer. The leader of the Insurgency will pay for his crimes."
"Ah don't like this," Bunnie said worriedly.
"At 6:00 P.M. local time," Sonic continued. "Shadow the Hedgehog will be executed at Prison Island." He paused and looked out into the cameras with a glare in his eyes, "May Chaos have mercy on his soul."
Insurgency Shadow switched the footage off, "Getting help will have to wait. Rescuing your Shadow just became our priority."
"It's a trap, though," Khan pointed out.
"Of course it is," Shadow nodded. "The One-Planet Regime may have orchestrated the execution as a trap to lure us out."
"Then we'll have to sneaky," Bunnie suggested.
"Sneaky how?" Knuckles asked.
"Ya told me this Space Colony ARK uses a transporter than can take us anywhere, anytime, right?" Bunnie asked Finitevus.
"Yes," Finitevus nodded. "The Space Colony ARK was the very first space colony developed by one of the world's greatest scientists, Professor Gerald. Following Sonic's ascension, he found the ARK and transformed it into a military base. It now hosts one-third of the One-Planet Government's massive military power, reinforced with the tightest security since Dr. Eggman's old city of Robotropolis. Infiltrating could be dangerous, and one mistake could be your last."
Bunnie smiled, "Like Ah said, we're gonna have to be sneaky. We'll just get to the transporter room, and we're home free."
"There remains one small problem," Finitevus said, pulling up some schematics on Prison Island. "Prison Island is equipped with teleportation dampeners."
Bunnie looked closely before she pointed out, "But they only cover the buildings. Y'all just have to get Shadow out of the island."
"Straight through a brick wall, is it?" Espio stroke his chin. "This could be interesting."
"You'll need a distraction to keep Sonic occupied," Fang pointed out.
"Leave that to me," Monkey Khan suggested. "Dr. Finitevus told me that these 'Raiden Giants' he created are connected to my mastery of lightning, as well as my counterpart's. He introduced me to a few. The Raiden Giants can be controlled by his and my thunder staff. That way, with them under my control, I can hold the enemy off."
"Ah'll take the teleporter," Bunnie smiled again. "Transportin' folks anywhere's mah thing. And…"
Everyone watched as her image suddenly changed into the armor of her counterpart.
"…Ah can get past their ranks. Ain't no one-third of a big regime's gonna slow this bunny down," She concluded. "That's mah new hologram imagery, by the way. Case any of you were wonderin'."
"I'm going with you," Fang stood next to her.
"You and me? Workin' together?" Bunnie scoffed, before shaking her head. "Ah don't think so."
"The only way to access the Space Colony ARK from Mobius is through the One-Planet Government's headquarters, the Hall of Justice," Finitevus continued. "A frontal attack would be spotted from miles away."
"And if your cover's blown, you'll need someone shadowing you." Insurgency Shadow added.
Bunnie looked at the tabled in silence, trying to think about it.
"I'm not asking for your permission, sweet cheeks," Fang admitted.
"But you will follow mah lead," Bunnie pointed out.
New Mobotropolis
One-Planet Government Headquarters, the Hall of Justice
Surprisingly, there was no tight security around the Hall of Justice, the One-Planet Government's main building. Bunnie and Fang accessed the underground sewers which led them into the fortress above. After disabling the security systems through the entrances, the two ascended until they were inside the teleporter's control room.
"You sure you can get us there?" Fang asked.
"Did I mention Ah'm good at computer stuff?" Bunnie answered back as she got to work on the control panel. "You just reroute the power, and Ah'll get the teleporter's access codes. After yer done, y'all make sure that you…"
"This isn't my first rodeo, sweet cheeks," Fang interjected. "I know the plan."
"Then stick to it," Bunnie said sternly as she continued to enter the codes.
Fang replied sternly, "Whatever history we have with our counterparts, you and I have none."
Bunnie responded, "Figures. Mah fellow Freedom Fighters and you were at each other's throats for a long time."
"Yeah. But only a couple of times."
"Then don't expect any warm fuzzies from me."
With that, Bunnie finished the codes. She instructed, "Meet ya by the teleporter in fifteen." Fang gave a mock salute before Bunnie left.
Soon…
Bunnie was in the teleporter's main lounge. The machine was huge, and did resemble the ones you see on a space fiction movie, except this one didn't need to be placed by a wall, and had some kind of spinning propeller on the top. Bunnie began working on the controls, when suddenly, the propellers started humming and the sound of materialization could be heard.
"Not now…" Bunnie muttered. She hoped they would be free long enough for her friends to make their move, but now she'd have to act like nothing was wrong and keep them distracted. Bunnie continued working on the controls, until her attention is caught by a Mobian who teleported in. This person is none other than Rouge the Bat, another Regime operative, in her original appearance.
Rouge walked past Bunnie without a second glance and greeted, "Hey, bunny rabbit."
"Howdy," Bunnie replied.
Before she could take the exit, Rouge stopped mid-track. She felt something was not quite right with Bunnie's answer. She turned back and asked, "You okay? You sick or something?"
"Uh…" Bunnie lied, sweat formulating on her head. "No, Ah'm okay. Ah'm fine. New orders came in from Sonic."
"New orders?" Rouge raised an eyebrow. "Since when has that stopped you?"
Bunnie tried to play along, "Yeah… We've… We've had some wild times, haven't we?"
Rouge smirked, finally understanding what's going on. She answered with three simple words.
"No, we haven't…"
Suddenly, she placed a tiny EMP device onto Bunnie's chest, and Bunnie's holographic outline reverted back to her original appearance. Because she's a spy, no wonder Rouge has a knack for discovering hidden identities!
"You're one of them."
Rouge threw Bunnie over her shoulder and readied herself.
"Let's see if I can find your 'off' button," she grinned.
STAGE 3: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. ROUGE THE BAT (REGIME)
Rouge went up to strike Bunnie, but Bunnie quickly gave her two kicks to her stomach with her robotic feet, sending her into the air. Bunnie moved in for another attack, but Rouge grabbed her chest and shoved two screw kicks, nearly piercing her body. Bunnie screamed in pain as Rouge withdrew her spiked boots and kicked at her face before giving a flip-kick into Bunnie's chin. Bunnie got back up and kneed Rouge to the chin, then gave an elbow blow to her back, sending her down to the ground. Bunnie delivered a series of punches to her before Rouge countered with a block.
"This is better than the whole Sand Blast City fiasco," Bunnie fretted.
"If that's the game we're playing, let me give you more pain!" Rouge smiled.
The two clashed, and Bunnie got the first hit, pushing Rouge back. Bunnie rushed towards her, but this time, Rouge was ready. She took out a smoke bomb and threw in on the ground, temporarily blinding Bunnie. Rouge kicked her up into the air, taking her whip out and cracking it. She then caught Bunnie by the neck with her whip, and slammed her head-first into the floor. Finally, Rouge delivered a series of infinite kicks from her boots, before back-flipping and slamming Bunnie's head to the ground with her legs. Bunnie got back up as Rouge came at her, only this time, Bunnie managed to extend her legs around and trip Rouge, before firing a fully charged laser blast from her arm cannon to Rouge's chest. This was more than enough to knock out Rouge.
Bunnie said admiringly for her victory, "I'm still turned on. Now, to get those codes—"
But Bunnie never started her work as her feet were frozen in place, making her gasp in confusion. This does not look good. Bringing up a status hologram, Bunnie realized her robotic feet and arm were hacked and shut down remotely. This can only be the work of the person she recognized by the voice.
"This is Bunnie to all Regime forces," the voice belonged to Regime Bunnie, who appeared out of nowhere. "I've found a duplicate of me here."
"Understood," Knuckles's voice called. "We'll send reinforcements. Knuckles out."
Meanwhile, at Insurgency HQ…
"Impressive," Finitevus remarked upon seeing Knuckles removing his headpiece, having diverted Regime Bunnie's signal from reaching the Regime. "What I would expect from your world's Freedom Fighters. The way you came up with your plan to have Knuckles pose as his counterpart…"
"Freedom Fighters are the best!" Amy cheered proudly. "Now if you excuse us, we're heading out for the big plan."
"Go, then," Finitevus replied and watched them leave. It was then that the white Echidna scientist had something else in mind…
Back at the Hall of Justice…
Bunnie brought up some holograms of her duplicate's cybernetics, as her duplicate did the same for her.
"Don't mind me," Regime Bunnie chuckled. "Ah'm just hackin' your robot parts' hardware."
"How 'bout Ah return the favor?" Bunnie replied.
The two cyber cowgirls kept working with their holograms. They were working faster than either had done before: constantly trying to learn and make 'adjustments' to the other's cybernetics while trying to block or undo any attempt. Finally, the two rabbits were hit by a short-circuit surge of energy, setting both free. The two Bunnies backed away before Bunnie faced her alternate counterpart.
"For real," Bunnie suggested. "Like a standoff!"
"Fine by me!" Regime Bunnie nodded. "And Ah'll be the one makin' the first draw!"
STAGE 4: BUNNIE RABBOT VS. BUNNIE RABBOT (REGIME)
Bunnie began with a quick punch to her other self's face, who was sent back, but bounced forward again with her extendable robotic boots. She grabbed a nearby statue, attempting to smash it into Mainstream Bunnie's face, but was stopped when Mainstream Bunnie punched her, causing Regime Bunnie to drop the statue down on her head. Bunnie then kneed her Regime counterpart upwards before she fell and hit the ground. Bunnie went to deliver a series of punches and kicks, but Regime Bunnie caught the last punch and grinned.
"Got you now," she laughed, slamming her energy-charged hand into Bunnie's chest and firing it. Bunnie screamed in pain before her Regime self knocked her back. Regime Bunnie went in for another kill, but Bunnie caught her by the shoulder and used the same technique on her, sending her back as well. Before Bunnie would strike back, Regime Bunnie unleashed a series of swift punches, kicks, and laser blasts before knocking her down.
Bunnie tried to punch and kick at her Regime duplicate, but every time she tried, her duplicate just managed to block over and over again. Finally, Bunnie let out an arm cannon laser beam to her other self's chest, sending her flying backwards. Bunnie went to work on delivering a series of quick blows, wailing away on Regime Bunnie. Eventually, Regime Bunnie was able to regain consciousness before blocking Mainstream Bunnie back and preparing to clash.
"If Ah was wearin' robot all over mah body, Ah'd have nightmares!" Bunnie pointed out.
"Ya wanna run home ta mommy?" Regime Bunnie mocked.
The two clashed with Mainstream Bunnie winning the clash and delivering another series of quick blows to Regime Bunnie, the final blow being a fully-charged particle beam. After a hundred blows, Regime Bunnie finally fell to her knees and collapsed unconscious.
"Pummeled by mahself," Bunnie looked over her defeated counterpart, "Definitely not a good look fer me. Plus, Ah prefer a lil' fashion sense every now and then."
"Whoa," Fang remarked, who just came in looking over Regime Rouge and Regime Bunnie's unconscious bodies. "You beat me to 'em."
"Another bounty lost?" Bunnie asked.
Fang shook his head, "This one was personal."
"Didn't think anything was personal with you," Bunnie crossed her arms.
"She made it personal when she tortured me," Fang explained.
"Let's go," Bunnie said, entering the coordinates into the teleporter. The two stepped in, and within a second, they were turned incorporeal before disappearing in a brilliant flash of light.