Prison Island
In the outer perimeter of the reinforced and super-strong military stronghold of Prison Island, millions of One-Planet regiments were stationed, some holding their standard rifles, others operating machines. Various Regime operatives such as Tails and Vector are situated on the ground, while some were hovering above, such as Enerjak and Neo Metal Sonic.
Above the entrance to the island's inner perimeter stood High Councilor Sonic, accompanied by his second-in-command Amy Rose. The self-appointed 'savior' of Mobius stood with his arms crossed. He knew it was only a matter of time before his world's Shadow would show up.
He saw something in the distance. Something flying towards the island. Some soldiers raised their guns, but quickly put them away when the form of Regime operative Julie-Su zoomed towards them. She was panting in front of the images of the High Councilor and his trusted adjutant.
"You're late, Julie-Su!" Amy reprimanded. "What took you so long?"
Julie-Su hastily reported under her breath, "I was attacked… by the Insurgents… at Sand Blast City! One of them… stole a weapon from the vault!"
Sonic guessed, "They're making their move."
All of a sudden, the water surrounding Prison Island rose into a mountain of waves. The soldiers and operatives looked in confusion and suddenly, the waters receded to reveal a gigantic robotic form reminiscent of an ancient Japanese deity. Floating on a nimbus cloud behind the robot's forehead was Monkey Khan with glowing thunder staff in hand. Standing on the robot's shoulders were Mainstream Amy and Mainstream Knuckles respectively. More and more giant identical robots began popping up from the ocean until they formed into a small army. Everyone watched as Khan motioned his thunder staff to give the order to Dr. Finitevus's newly-created battle robots, the Raiden Giants.
"ARISE AND STAND WITH ME!" Khan commanded.
The Raiden Giants floated forward, preparing to attack.
"There they are!" Sonic spotted. With a motion of his arm, he gave the order to all the surrounding soldiers on Prison Island to take them down.
"Attack!" Amy ordered.
The two opposing sides surged forward.
With a motion of Khan's thunder staff, the Raiden Giants obeyed by opening multiple hatches from their large metallic fingers. The fingers fired a barrage of missiles, destroying the areas in front of them and the soldiers caught in their midst. What's more, the Raiden Giants' antennas glowed to produce lightning bolts that electrocute the soldiers and machines, frying them crispy.
The Insurgency has grown stronger than ever, just as the One-Planet Government had feared. Amy was the most frantic of them all.
"STOP THEM! TAKE THEM DOWN!" she demanded the One-Planet soldiers. Thusly, an epic battle of Regime battalions vs. giant robots ensued. Amy and Knuckles followed suit. Explosions and bodies flew everywhere.
Let the ultimate all-out assault on Prison Island commence!
In the meantime, the Regime was unaware of something else going on.
Weapons Bed Facility
On the other side of the island, Insurgency Shadow emerged from the manhole with Espio following suit.
"Let's go!" Shadow motioned.
They began walking, but suddenly stopped when they heard sounds of stepping shoes mixed with metallic clangs approaching behind. Turning around, Shadow and Espio saw Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega attacking them. Omega threw Rouge up into the air, allowing her to perform an aerial Screw Kick Attack and tackle Shadow's chest to the ground.
"Omega!" Espio exclaimed upon recognizing the E-Series Robot's armor. Without a word, the ex-member of Team Dark fired a series of machine guns from his arms which Espio dodged effortlessly, leaving Shadow, recovering from Rouge's Screw Kick Attack, to deal with Rouge alone.
"Hello, Shadow," Rouge responded with a grin. "Still as handsome as ever."
"Save it, Rouge," Shadow rejected.
"I'm sorry, Shadow. I had to join Sonic when he promised me he'd give me all the jewels in the world," Rouge admitted with a sigh. "I'm simply can't resist those wonderful jewels."
Shadow scoffed, "You chose your craving for jewels over your friends? How could you do something like this?"
Rouge explained, "I'm a treasure hunter with an eye on the world's gems, you see. But no one has recognized that fact. Not until now."
"But Sonic recognizes that?" Shadow asked.
"That's right," Rouge nodded. "And now I'm fighting to create an entire world with gems everywhere! This is a very important battle for me, as well as all of us." She continued in a romantic flare, "In good times, the One-Planet Government rules over all. There's plenty of treasure for us to go around!"
Shadow crossed his arms, "You know, the world's treasures were your only comfort apart from those you left to die in my place. I would never forget the day you abandoned us for Sonic. That you joined a meaningless cause. Face it, Rouge… you've gone mad."
Rouge was unfazed by Shadow's insult and smirked, "Ha! You think that was coincidence? No, it was destiny. Destiny when I joined the One-Planet Regime, I was born to be the greatest treasure hunter that ever lived. It's too bad you're not here to witness it. You were given a chance to join us, but you're as stubborn as you look." She slowly took out a grenade from her pocket. "Sorry for putting you down, Shadow. I just want you to know…" Her face turned into a war expression, "…this isn't personal!"
Rouge threw the automatically set grenade, but Shadow deflected it with a swift kick, sending it flying into the air before it exploded.
Shadow took a step forward to confront Rouge, "I have some business to take care of, too."
STAGE 1: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ROUGE THE BAT (REGIME)
Shadow began responded with a head butt, making Rouge take a few steps back. He then threw a Chaos Spear which blasted Rouge. Shadow attempted a flying kick, but Rouge ducked and punched him in the stomach, making him do a flip in the air before falling on his back. Rouge performed a Screw Kick Attack in the air and smacked Shadow in the chest.
The Ultimate Life Form went flying back a bit before he got back up. Rouge attempted to hit him again, but Shadow threw a series of Chaos Spear, blasting Rouge a few times. Shadow then performed a Homing Attack, followed by a series of punches and kicks, and he charged his fists with Chaos Energy, clasped them, and hammered Rouge to the ground. He then used Chaos Control to teleport a few times and knee Rouge in the chin, before Rouge recovered and kicked him many times.
Shadow recovered and gave two more Homing Attacks before Rouge would attack again. He Spin Dashed forward past Rouge, and when he appeared behind her, he thrust kicked her in the head. Rouge punched Shadow back, but Shadow delivered a series of quick blows followed by Homing Attacks.
Rouge tried to attack again, but Shadow was determined to get his counterpart out, so he decided to wrap this up. Pulling his arm back, he slammed a Chaos-charged fist into her. He then held his hands together to summon a giant fully-charged Chaos Rift attack, which devastated Rouge on impact. Rouge got back up, but fell on the ground defeated.
Shadow looked at her sternly, "You chose the wrong side, Rouge."
Meanwhile, Espio was trying to fend off Omega's endless supply of destructive weapons. Omega seemed to not only know Espio's every move, but was more ruthless than he ever was since he rebelled against Dr. Eggman. And even during the hard times, Omega always had some form of humanity underneath his cold robotic exterior.
"What is wrong with you, Omega?" Espio asked, trying to talk Omega out of it. "You joined our side to defeat Dr. Eggman! G.U.N. took you in! Trained you! You became Shadow's friend!" He clashed with Omega's metallic fists with his kunai. "I know Shadow can be stubborn at times, but you abandoned him for Sonic?"
The E-Series Robot punched Espio to the ground, staring at him with cold, emotionless eyes.
"My codename is not E-123 Omega," the robot replied.
He brought a fist down, but Shadow blocked with his own.
"This is E-102 Gamma," he explained.
"Gamma?!" Espio exclaimed.
"I am E-123 Omega's predecessor," Gamma responded as he and Shadow pushed back and the two began circling each other. "The second of Dr. Robotnik's E-Series Robots. Robotnik is my creator, but Sonic is more of a master to me than he ever was. He was generous to rebuild me with this armor, allowing me to reunite with my friend, the one I have let escape from the Egg Carrier, Amy Rose."
Shadow shot back, "And you're just a useless heap of metal to me. You are the one who destroyed E-123 Omega five years ago. He was my friend. You have no right to wear his colors! You will pay for what you did to him!"
STAGE 2: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. E-123 OMEGA (REGIME)
Shadow threw the first punch, knocking Gamma back with a lot of force, before he bounced off some fuel canisters and back. Shadow then tried a Homing Attack, but the new Omega blocked his attacks and shot him in the chest with a rocket launcher. The usurper of the original Omega fired an infinite series of machines guns and missiles to Shadow, blowing Shadow away to the dirt hard.
Swearing revenge, Shadow fired four Chaos Spears and two Homing Attacks, followed by an almighty kick that knocked Gamma back. Shadow delivered a kick that sent Gamma upwards, but on the fall back down, Omega spun around with a metal fist, knocking Shadow to the ground. Shadow gave three Homing Attacks, followed by a fist that sent the Dark Omega into the air, and then delivered three more Homing Attacks which floored Gamma.
Gamma's body was heavily damaged, and no matter how many machines guns or missile he fired, the vengeful Shadow always seemed to dodge or deflect. Gamma even tried to grab Shadow with his metal fist, but Shadow easily parried them. However, Gamma was able to punch Shadow in the face, making him take a few steps back.
Gamma then attempted to grab him, but Shadow pushed him off and pierces through his robotic chest, creating a hole in his armor. Gamma had no time to recover as Shadow delivered a series of swift blows powered by Chaos Energy, damaging Gamma's armor further. Gamma took out his weapons from his arms, but Shadow managed to tear off Gamma's arms with his bare hands.
"Warning… Damage critical… Damage critical… All weapons offline… All shields offline…" Gamma calculated his current status.
"You're dead," Shadow declared, showing no sympathy for the robot responsible for Omega's death. Shadow jumped high in the air and, with a thunderous battle cry, performed a chop, fully-charged with Chaos Energy, and sliced Omega's body in half when his feet hit the ground.
On cue, the former E-Series Robot, Gamma, exploded into a small sea of flames. At last, he had fallen victim to Shadow's anger. Omega's murder had been avenged. What's more, the One-Planet Government suffered the first of many casualties from its ensemble of high-leveled operatives.
"This was for you, Omega," Shadow said, satisfied for his victory dedicated to Omega.
Espio quickly recovered and asked Shadow, "Are you alright?"
Shadow ignored his question, "Let's keep moving."
Espio asked again, "Shadow, if you don't mind me asking… What happened to your Omega?"
Shadow was silent for a minute before he sighed.
"Sonic found the remains of E-102 Gamma and rebuilt him with the same body as Omega's. Five years ago, during the mission to retrieve the C-4-A-08 pill, Gamma destroyed Omega. While the Secret Freedom Fighters and I were trying to take the pill, Omega and the G.U.N. soldiers were distracting Sonic's forces. It turns out, Shard the Metal Sonic was a double-agent and led Omega to be destroyed personally by Gamma. I didn't learn of Omega's death until Hope told me the news after I synthesized the pill's formula."
Espio saw it very clearly that Shadow was in pain. It was the same pain he felt when he lost Maria 50 years ago when the ARK was shut down by the government, and then again after Amy inspired him to fulfill his promise to Maria to save the planet. Not to mention the other time when Rouge and Omega saved his life when he was found in suspended animation after he 'sacrificed' his life to teleport the falling ARK from its collision course, and found friendship.
All those years, Shadow felt he had lost something precious to him, and in this world, that sorrow would be with him for the rest of his life.
Outside Prison Island…
The battle between the Raiden Giants and the Regime Forces raged on. Sonic's senses were blazing so loudly that it was difficult for him to focus on what to do. Right now, he was operating on instinct and anger. Sonic sped towards the Raiden Giants on lightning speed, instantly destroying a few with a single Spin Attack. Sonic was breaking the speed limit due to the tremendous amounts of Chaos Energy fused to his cells. One of the destroyed Raiden Giants led Amy and Knuckles to jump and land safely on the ground. The shattered remains of the Raiden Giants crumbled around the forces already at battle, though they were at a complete disadvantage at the same time.
Sonic smirked, but was suddenly hit by a sparkling swung of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, and knocked into Knuckles, who grabbed Sonic by the arms. Amy twirled her hammer with a face full of bravado.
"Would you mind if I play along too, Sonic?" Amy cracked playfully.
Sonic ignored the comment. In another time, he would've responded with a joke, but this was a world that did not need humor. It needed a protector with responsibility for the entire planet. Sonic threw Knuckles off him and rode him to the ground, slamming his feet into his back. He growled at Amy, who swung up her hammer to fight him.
"C'mon, Bad Sonic!" Amy motioned her hand to Regime Sonic. "Hit me with your best shot! Fire away!"
Sonic retorted cruelly, "You made a foolish choice, imposter. Now you're going to regret it."
With that, Sonic's body glowed with immense yellow energy, the ground cracking beneath him, forcing Amy to drop her bravado. To see her potential love interest glow with incredulous, unbelievable power, threatening to kill her… it actually scared Amy.
"Oops," Amy gulped.
Before Sonic could respond, he was slugged in the face by Knuckles, who quickly made a blistering comeback.
"You've saved us the trouble of tracking our Shadow down," Knuckles glared at Sonic. "Now we'll get you good!" He jumped into the air, "Stand back, Amy. I've got this." He spun around like a drill and dug into the ground, his spinning fists propelling him through the soil. Sonic didn't move, even when the ground rumbled slightly beneath his feet. Then, all of a sudden, Knuckles rocketed upward with a thunderous spiked uppercut to the jaw, throwing the hedgehog's head back.
Knuckles landed on his feet with a triumphant look on his face. That punch would have easily floored Sonic, but to his dismay, he noticed that Sonic's head returned to its usual position, not a scratch visible from the attack, though his bones have cracked a bit.
"Man, he's tough!" Knuckles exclaimed, genuinely taken back. "Doesn't matter, though. I'm just warming up!"
Summoning small balls of energy channeled from his connectivity with the Chaos Force, the energy balls floated up from the ground and circled around Knuckles. A red aura exploded around him, fueled by Knuckles's growing anger. He rushed forward with a fist raised, "Let's see what you got, Sonic!"
Sonic only scoffed. He simply swung his hand, as if he was swatting a fly. The backhand caught Knuckles on the side of the head, knocking him six miles away and sending him hurling through a large slab of nearby metal which exploded on impact. The red echidna came to rest in the dirt, knocked unconscious.
"Knuckles!" Amy cried.
"How pathetic," Sonic sighed, turning his attention to a frightened Amy. "Now for you." His hand glowed with a surge of yellow energy directed towards Amy.
"Uh-oh," Amy said fearfully.
Inside Prison Island…
Insurgency Shadow and Espio approached one of the prison cells, where Shadow was held captive. Insurgency Shadow took out a card key, pressed a few buttons, and the red hologram blocking the cell vanished. Espio sighed with relief to see his world's Shadow save and sound, but for the time being. Mainstream Shadow was beaten and bruised at the hands of One-Planet operatives, but a small smile upon seeing one of his comrades circled his lips. His expression changed when he saw his Insurgency counterpart.
"You…" he groaned as Insurgency Shadow began to free him. "So you're what all the fuss is about…"
His Insurgent counterpart couldn't help but chuckle a little, "I could say the same about you."
Insurgency Shadow managed to release his counterpart, who fell to the ground in exhaustion. He caught Mainstream Shadow in his arms, but stopped when a kunai pierced the wall only a few inches away. Turning back, Insurgency Shadow noticed Espio reloading his kunai from his gloves, pulsed by a dark red aura flowing around his body.
"I can't… struggle…" Espio was conflicted, "The next shot… might not miss…"
"Julie-Su," Shadow recognized the red aura.
"Surrender, Shadow," Julie-Su said through Espio's mouth. Espio threw another kunai, but Insurgency Shadow swatted it away with his hand. Another kunai was thrown, and Insurgency Shadow dodged with his head before it hit the wall harmlessly.
"I have you now," Julie-Su spoke through Espio's mouth again, forcing Espio to throw another kunai. Insurgency Shadow caught the arrow and threw it away. Espio threw more kunai, but Shadow kept knocking a few away, even with the use of Chaos Spear.
"You can't keep this up!" Julie-Su ranted through Espio's mouth. He then decided to throw a multi-kunai attack, but this too fails when Insurgency Shadow unleashed a hundred-punch technique (similar to Chun-Li's lightning kicks), deflecting all of the kunai as a result. Insurgency Shadow finally had enough of Julie-Su antics.
"Julie-Su!" Insurgency Shadow demanded. "That's enough!" With no other choice, he had to try to knock Espio out to break him free from Julie-Su's mind control.
STAGE 3: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ESPIO THE CHAMELEON
Insurgency Shadow swung his leg around, knocking Espio down. He then threw four Chaos-charged punches towards Espio's face, four more to his stomach, and then an uppercut to the jaw. Insurgency Shadow then used Chaos Control to teleport a few times, striking Espio confusedly. Afterwards, the two fired their Chaos Spears and kunai respectively, some hitting and some missing. Finally, Shadow Spin Dashed and kneed Espio to the jaw, knocking him back. The black hedgehog dealt the last blow by charging his fist with Chaos Energy. He hit Espio in the forehead with a chop, crying, "HIYAAAAH!" The chop connected, a pulse emitted by the shockwave of Chaos Energy. With that, Espio fall over in exhaustion.
"I'll apologize later," Insurgency Shadow said. He looked around, "Julie-Su! Show yourself!"
The image of Regime Julie-Su appeared, sending a surge of powerful red Chaos Energy towards Insurgency Shadow in the form of a falcon. But she didn't realize the injured Shadow behind her as she was knocked out cold by his fist, causing the red falcon to dissipate into mist. Espio managed to regain his senses, whilst Insurgency Shadow came to Mainstream Shadow's aid.
Espio sighed to himself, "To think I was brainwashed by one of our enemies… I have been dishonored."
Insurgency Shadow assured, "Don't worry, Espio. Whatever happened to you is safe with me."
The injured Shadow tried to walk, but he nearly fell down. Luckily, Espio and Insurgency Shadow caught them in their arms.
"Easy, easy," Insurgency Shadow fretted. "Can you walk?"
Before the three would walk their way out of the detention center, a loud explosion came form the ceiling. The roof behind them collapsed, revealing the figure of Enerjak who collapsed with a loud thud. BOOM!
"Get him outside," Insurgency Shadow ordered. There was no way out without getting past him.
"We're not leaving you—" Espio began.
"Just go!" Insurgency Shadow shouted back. "I'll catch up!"
The two quickly left, while Insurgency Shadow confronted Enerjak, who recovered and approached the black hedgehog with a grin.
"Well, look what I found!" Enerjak smiled. "Time to end the Insurgency!"
STAGE 4: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG (INSURGENCY) VS. ENERJAK (REGIME)
Shadow made a quick Homing Attack to Enerjak, knocking him back. Enerjak attempted to morph his hands to shoot a charged Chaos Beam Attack, but Shadow disrupted his concentration by throwing five Chaos Spears, knocking him back. Enerjak fired a series of beams from his hands, but Shadow managed to dodge them all. Shadow counterattacked with a punch to the face, breaking his nose in the process. Enerjak then summoned a Thunder Arrow from his hands, electrocuting Shadow and stunning him.
Shadow got back up and delivered seven Chaos-charged punches to Enerjak's face, followed by three Chaos Spears. Shadow gave two Homing Attacks, and attempted a Spin Dash, but Enerjak caught him by surprise and fired a powerful blast of Chaos Energy, knocking him to the ground. Shadow responded with a sudden series of Chaos-powered blows Enerjak was unable to dodge, followed by three Chaos Spears, and finally, a Chaos Rift attack to deal the final blow until Enerjak collapsed exhaustively. The leader of the Insurgency looked at him seriously.
"Sonic is the real enemy, Knuckles," he explained. "Not me."
Insurgency Shadow left to rejoin his team, now down to only a few minutes left before the Space Colony ARK would detonate. If they couldn't get off this island before the time stops, they'd be stranded and at the mercy of the One-Planet Regime.
Back outside at the battlefield…
The distraction was not going well as Regime forces were beginning to fight back, despite heavy losses and the destructive power of the Raiden Giants. Fortunately for the One-Planet Forces, most of the Raiden Giants were destroyed, giving them a slight advantage to counterattack. Assistant High Councilor Amy, who was hiding underneath, smiled contently, knowing there's no need for reinforcements.
She smiled to herself, "Strong as they may have become, it seems the Insurgency badly underestimated the true power of the One-Planet Regime!" She began rooting for Sonic, "Go, Sonic! Kick the duplicates' gnarly butts!"
Mainstream Amy was gasping weakly as Sonic strained her by the neck, not showing any emotion. This was DEFINITELY NOT the Sonic she respected as a friend, a fellow Freedom Fighter, and a potential love interest. This was Sonic if he had been as evil as Dr. Eggman or as ruthless as Scourge the Hedgehog. He was completely emotionless, without any remorse whatsoever for taking another life. It was understandable in some ways seeing as how this hedgehog lost his family and anything that was important to him, but that didn't make him any less scary.
This is the road Sonic told his friends and family he would never travel, and yet there seemed to be a universe in which that promise was broken.
From behind, Monkey Khan threw his thunder staff at Sonic, hitting him in the back and forcing him to release his grip on Amy.
"Over here!" Khan taunted as he flew into the air above Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared up with rage burning in his eyes.
"Chaos Control!" Sonic shouted, and he vanished in a flash of light.
"Where did he go?!" Khan exclaimed.
The realization struck Amy like a thunderbolt. Though she didn't realize his cells are overflowing with Chaos, Regime Sonic can use Chaos Control without using a Chaos Emerald!
"He can use Chaos Control?!" Amy cried out. "That's the same power Shadow has!"
Sonic reappeared above Khan, one powerful kick sending the King of the Free People plummeting back to the ground. As Khan tried to gather his senses in the small crater beneath him, Sonic floated in the air above him.
"HE CAN FLY, TOO?!" Amy exclaimed yet again. It's as if in this world, it was full of surprises. And Sonic was the one who surprised her the most.
Bringing his palms together, Sonic created a much larger energy blast, firing vertically at Khan.
"DIE!" he screamed. The energy blast struck the ground and exploded, with rocks and rubble being blown in all directions. The triumphant smirk on Sonic's face disappeared when the smoke cleared, revealing a slightly unconscious Khan resting in the arms of Knuckles the Echidna.
"Sorry it took so long, monkey man," Knuckles apologized.
"You won't get away with this!" Sonic growled. The corrupted hero sped towards Knuckles at lightning speed and punched Knuckles in face, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to drop Khan's body. He then began to repeatedly sock Knuckles until the red echidna pushed him back with a punch to the chest. However, the punch didn't physically hurt Sonic, as he counterattacked with a swift kick, shoving Knuckles away.
Knuckles recovered quickly, and with a fierce cry, he punched Sonic multiple times with his fists, but with every punch thrown, Sonic effortlessly blocked them all with his hands. Sonic then took the next fist and held both behind Knuckles's back.
Knuckles grunted and tried to break free, but Sonic continued to twist his arms backwards. The red echidna slowly began to feel his bones beginning to crack and yelled in pain.
"NO! STOP!" Amy cried, unable to stand her friends in a terrible state.
But Sonic ignored Amy. Rather, he smirked and took great delight in torturing Knuckles. He enjoyed taking pleasure in showing how futile it was to try and resist him. This is how the world should view him, a force unlike any other that should not be messed with, so as to keep the entire world safe from any threat.
His attention was caught by an explosion from one of the upper floors of Prison Island. Sonic looked closely to see three figures emerging from the smoke. He recognized them as both Shadows and the parallel world's version of Espio the Chameleon.
"No…" he growled, completely forgetting about Knuckles. He dropped the red echidna down and zipped over, determined to stop the escapers.
Meanwhile, both Shadows and Espio stood outside the prison walls.
"And only four minutes left," Espio smiled confidently.
Then he realized something. Nothing was happening.
"Why isn't the transporter working?" Espio asked, much to both Shadows' confusion.
The Space Colony ARK…
Back at the ARK, it seems that Bunnie is having trouble teleporting her friends from Prison Island. She could see them on the map, but the screen shows 'Target Lock Failed', still within range of the teleportation dampeners.
"Darn it!" Bunnie cursed, looking at the timer to see four minutes left. She couldn't teleport everyone out unless Shadow was first. If someone else went first, Sonic could notice and immediately recapture Shadow. Or worse.
They had to find a way to get within range. And it had to be now.
Back at Prison Island…
Deciding to try standing somewhere else, the group made a turn away from the ocean below. They got no further than three steps when Regime Sonic floated in front of them, blocking their way. The group backed up, and knew they had to do something fast.
"You thought you could fool me, Shadow?" Sonic glared at the Insurgency leader. "Like he did?"
"This isn't about Dr. Eggman!" Insurgency Shadow argued. "It's about you!"
The group realized they had run out of room to back up from; behind them was a cliff leading to the waters below. Regime Sonic advanced towards Espio and the two Shadows with his teeth almost grinding together, angrily staring at the resistance members. It was clear that he wasn't going to tolerate them any longer.
"I perfected this world!" Sonic shot back. "So many lives lost, because I held back, when I should've used all my powers!"
While Sonic was speaking his monologue, he didn't notice the group shooting a look at each other, formulating their last back-up plan.
"To do what?" Insurgency Shadow questioned. "To control? To corrupt? To oppress?"
"I could've prevented New Mobotropolis! Saved my family!" Sonic yelled, his eyes glowing red with absolute rage. "This war wouldn't have taken their lives."
"War took my family too, Sonic," Insurgency Shadow said, quietly and as comforting as he could be, while still retaining his stern face.
Unfortunately, Regime Sonic wasn't going to buy it.
"But you weren't the gun," Sonic said grimly.
"NOW!"
By cue, the group jumped off. Sonic was about to catch them in a few seconds when Mainstream Shadow, Insurgency Shadow, and Espio turned incorporeal and disappeared in a bright light, much to Sonic's surprise. He suddenly looked around to see, one-by-one, Amy, Knuckles, and Monkey Khan disappearing in a similar flash of light. The last of the Raiden Giants, without Khan to operate them, shut down and fell into the ocean or the ground with a colossal bang. The Regime forces, almost pushed to the point of exhaustion after a devastating battle, tried to figure out what happened.
And then it hit Sonic.
"THE ARK!" Sonic yelled outrageously.
He didn't waste another second.
With a loud scream, Sonic erupted with a giant flash of golden energy and zipped upwards, leaving a large crater behind from where he stood. He flew high into the sky, above the clouds, and into space. In a few seconds, Sonic was already in the ARK's main hangar. When he arrived there using Chaos Control, he realized something strange. It was getting a bit hotter as he approached the ARK's reactor core. His senses were beginning to ring.
Just then, he heard a recorded message echoed from a vocal recorder, which sounded like a much playful and enthusiastic Bunnie.
"Hey, sugar-hog!" the voice called. "Hasta la vista, quill-head!"
It was then that Sonic spotted the ARK's core rapidly overheating. Then it happened!
The entire Space Colony ARK exploded. It didn't explode in flames, but rather that of a pulse, one which was blue and scattering its remains throughout the sea of stars. Sonic was the only one who survived the blast while he's still inside the colony, pushed back by the impact and falling down to Mobius. Like a falling meteor, Sonic's body heated red. Then, he collapsed into a faraway desert with a colossal BANG, creating a giant crater from the impact.
When Sonic slowly regained consciousness, his One-Planet uniform was charred and his cape was torn to shreds due to his cosmic fall. Up in space, should anyone see it, what remained of the ARK floating in space was reduced to tiny rocks falling down like shooting stars in the sky.
But Sonic was now more furious than ever.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" he roared in absolute frustration, his rage surging with tremendous Chaos Energy from his body, spreading throughout the desert like wildfire.
Sonic was officially having a bad day. His forces had failed to secure Shadow, Prison Island and the forces defending it have been devastated, Omega was dead, and the Chaos Neutralizer was still out there with Shadow.
But worst of all was the fact that the Space Colony ARK has been wiped out. One third of the One-Planet Government's military might was destroyed, dissolving less than half. Not to mention, hundreds of millions of lives were lost.
"Sonic…" the voice of Miles "Tails" Prower groaned through Sonic's earpiece.
"TAILS!" Sonic screamed in much hatred than he had felt before. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"I think we're in some place called New Found Land?" Tails' voice grunted. "I think Fiona might've visited there once…"
"TAILS!" Sonic interrupted with a loud roar, shutting Tails up. "Tell me what's going on, or I'm going to make your life more of a living nightmare than it already is! Is anybody else with you?!"
"Oh, yeah," Tails' voice responded, "I got the guys… the heroes… and every other personnel with me…"
There was a crackle in the communications link.
"Tails!" Sonic demanded. "Are you there? TAILS?! TAILS!"
There was no response and only static.
Just then, multiple monitors visibly appeared in the air, broadcasting a very special message throughout the whole planet of Mobius. Appearing on the monitor stood a mysterious figure dressed in a caped black-and-red armor exposing his golden ring-outfitted arms and legs, and wearing a black iron mask concealing his face.
The mysterious spoke with a strong voice glinted with passion and ideology. And Sonic knew who it was.
"Citizens of Mobius!" the figure declared. "For too long, the One-Planet Government has enslaved us, leading us like we were their sheep! They brutalized us, oppressed us, dragged us down! The Regime promised us peace, but brought only war! Promised us well-being, but brought only poverty! Promised us protection, but brought only harm to our homes and families! The Regime has lied to us! Deceived us! Betrayed our trust!"
A roaring boo emanated from the citizens of Mobius.
"Before, under the rule of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, we were slaves to the machine. Now, the One-Planet Government hopes to make us slaves to the nuclear bomb! The nuke of war that does not make food or shelter or clothing, but guns and shells and bombs! I say to you, citizens, will you submit to this nuke?"
A resounding "No" throughout the planet erupted.
"Citizens, I say to you all, this age of tyranny and oppression will no longer stand! We must take matters into our own hands! The One-Planet Government is powerful as they believe they were, but we, the people, have the greatest power of all. The greatest power no one will ever take away. Our freedom!"
The figure's speech whipped the population into a frenzy.
"We hereby declare war against the High Councilor and his absolute authority! Once we emerge victorious, we will begin the REAL change in Mobius. We will return power to the people and give them to means to rebuild the world into a better place for all. A world where the nations of the world unite not by force, but by peace. A world where cooperation is the essence of society, and all is free and just. A world where the strong shall not reign over the weak! What did the One-Planet Government and its cronies offer? Dictatorship!"
There was another round of applause, cheering, and shouts of approval.
"Dictatorship, with all its vices and imperfections. These frauds do not seek compromise. And so, we will not seek it with them. Tyrants have no place in this world, and they seek only this planet's destruction. But we will destroy them first!"
And there was again the planet-wide cheering. The enigmatic figure moved to his right, giving way for the viewers to see a familiar building.
"The Hall of Justice…" Sonic recognized under his breath.
The mysterious figure introduced, "Behold! This is the Hall of Justice, the central seat of power for the High Councilor, who demanded our families' blood for his regime, and our labor for his dinner table. His followers also feast upon our lives. And what did they do to deserve it? Blood inheritance?!" he scoffed.
The citizens erupted again, this time with booing and hissing.
"This is but a living example of tyranny, one of many examples the High Councilor decided to keep alive! Now we will show him our response, and set an example for tyrants across the world!"
That was the cue. One hand lifted a remote. One finger pressed a button.
And then, a blood red sea of flames erupted from the entire Hall of Justice, destroying it completely.
Upon watching the footage, Sonic's rage had once again reached a maximum point. First, the ARK was destroyed… Now, the Hall of Justice? The main headquarters of his regime… GONE?!
"And as for you, Sonic the Hedgehog," the figure now directed his attention to a glaring Sonic. "Your time is over. Your days of tyranny are numbered. We will submit to you no more!"
The citizens of Mobius once again applauded not just his words, but his actions as well.
"If you wish to prove yourself worthy enough to be listened to, I challenge you to a duel in the Coliseum in New Mobotropolis! You and me, one-on-one!" He concluded his speech with much conviction, "Come forth, and we shall decide the fate of Mobius in one battle! Come, and face the might of… The Iron Echidna!"