A/N: Welcome fellow viewers to Chapter 31. For the last chapter I was considering putting in a love song Kor could sing for Nicole, but because I rarely listen to such songs (I'm more of a rock/heavy metal person) and because I wanted to get that chapter pushed out I decided not to. Anyway, as you saw before, the seeds of unrest were planted from Mina's concert. Let's see how this will turn out for all involved.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega and Archie except my OC.

As the fifth day of the week started, it was a bright, warm sunny day. A Tarantula was sitting on a not-too-busy street of New Mobotropolis, its face unreadable. Like the Hornet, Tarantulas were also capable of expressing various emotions, but due to their design it was hard to tell what they were thinking unless they were 'talking'. However, they all had one thing in common: sheer boredum. Like their predecessor, despite all their potential, there had been little activity going on for them to be of much use aside from their constant patrols. Their creator told them it was due to the lack of movement from their enemies, though they were told to keep an eye out for suspect Geoffrey St. John. And, since that concert 2 days ago, they had to deal with jerkish citizens making snide comments at them.

The 4-legged robot sighed as it looked at the sky. Unlocking its mouth, it let out a yawn, revealing two rows of large, sharp, banana-shaped metal teeth. "Another slow day..." It groaned in its own language.

However, it soon picked up the sounds of a small crowd. Giving a quick ping from its radar, it saw it was the only unit close enough to investigate. Lifting its body slightly, the robot walked towards the scene, the ground vibrating noticeably due to its weight. As it approached the Civic Center, it saw the crowd had gathered to what appeared to be another Forget Me Knots concert, albeit much smaller. It also identified a few of the Freedom Fighters within the crowd.

"Scoping out a free concert all day. You sure know how to plan a second date Sal." Sonic joked.

"Oh hush." She smirked. "We're here just to make sure things don't get out of hand like they did on Tuesday..."

"Still hard to believe everyone would be so jumpy about Nicole now. It's not like the same thing will happen again, right?" Amy pointed out.

"It won't, and as long as I'm here I'll be making sure of that." Sonic boasted.

The Forget Me Knots were going to have a small informal show. Mina had thought long and hard about how people had viewed the message she delivered, what a few of the heroes told her, and after witnessing people arguing about whether or not Nicole was a menace, particularly during a date she and Ash had last night, she concluded that she would have to clarify what she meant. She didn't want to cause any more unrest for the already nervous population. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the mic.

"Good morning people of New Mobotropolis. We would like to thank everyone for coming to our surprised showing and for their show of support. What we hope to do is lighten the mood for everyone today. So try to enjoy yourselves as much as possible ok?" The mongoose finished with a smile.

" 'Lighten the mood' huh? How can this day get any better when we our still at risk of being taken over by a computer?" A voice rang out.

Everyone looked around for the owner, only to find a cloaked figure briskly walking through the crowd.

"Um, excuse me but who are you?" Mina asked.

The figure smirked and threw off his cloak (which lands on Mina), revealing the ever-wanted Geoffrey St. John. The Freedom Fighters present were shocked and the Tarantula standing a few meters away growled. "The Forget Me Knots were right about one thing: we need to act against Nicole while we have the chance!" Geoffrey proclaimed.

Mina irritably throws the discarded cloak off her face. "Now hold on a second Mr. John, that isn't exactly what I-" She started.

"Don't worry about it Ms. Songoose. Besides, you've already done your part." Geoffrey said smugly, leaving Mina and the rest of the band confused.

"You won't be doing anything Geoffrey. You're wanted on the account of treason, so if I were you I'd surrender unless you want to add resisting arrest to those charges." Sally told him.

"I'm fairly justified in my actions princess. All that I've done has been in service to the true king of this city." The ex-agent retorted.

"What are you going on about Stinky?" Sonic asked.

As Amy takes her hammer out, she notices a black mist weaving through the crowd. It catches everyone attention as it makes its way onto the stage. The smoke manifests itself into none other than Ixis Naugus, surprising the hell out of everyone else. The Forget Me Knots scatter and the crowd begins to panic. The Tarantula scans the wizard before alarm bells start ringing in its systems. It immediately signals two more Tarantulas to rush to its location as well as contacting its master.

"Now now my fellow subjects, calm yourselves. I am here to offer you, a chance for salvation! I am well aware that many of you live in fear of the digital menace, and I will be your savior, should my fair city be turned on us once again!" Naugus proclaimed.

"The only person I'll turn the city against is you, Ixis Naugus." Nicole stated as she materialized in front of the wizard. Using the nanites, she forms a large clamp-trap around him, holding him in place. "If you don't resist any further this will be as swift as possible."

However, the Ixis wizard isn't fazed in the slightest. "You hold no sway over me!" His chaos emerald wand glows, causing the nanite trap to turn into some kind of magic crystal before it shatters. "Your artifical methods are heavily dwarfed by my magic!" He tells a shocked Nicole before turning to the crowd. "As you can see my people, you will no longer have to live in fear! And as of now, I will speak with the Council of Acorn so we may procure peace!" The wizard then whispers to Geoffrey. "Keep those nuisances off my back." He said before turning himself into mist and flies to the castle.

"He better stick to the plan..." Geoffrey muttered to himself as he faces the Freedom Fighters.

Sally orders Sonic to intercept Naugus while the rest deal with the traitor. The hedgehog quickly catches up to Naugus and attempts to nail him with a homing attack, only for the his attack to pass right through the wizard. Sonic muses that Naugus can control the elements, but he believes he could reach the wizard faster than he could transform. The True Blue's second attempt is blocked as Naugus casts a pillar of flame. This continues all the way to the castle, with Naugus using whatever convienience as necessary to slow the hedgehog down.

Once he reaches the castle, Naugus sees two Tarantulas standing guard by the main entrance. Upon seeing him, the robots change into their firing positions before shooting a barrage of lasers at the Ixis wizard. Due to his close proximity, Sonic is forced to dodge as well. Naugus easily evades the fire by turning into smoke and slips past the robots, much to their bewilderment. He then casts a crystal wall at the entrance. "That should keep those pests out." He chuckled as stormed into the building.

Back with the others, Sally has the Royal Guard attempt to arrest Geoffrey, but the skunk pulls rank to make them stand down. The two proceed to bicker over whether or not the ex-agent should be arrested, with Geoffrey proclaiming he's acting on "king's orders" to which Sally retorts Elias gave no such command. The skunk smugly fires back that he wasn't talking about the current king.

Frustrated, Sally then orders the Freedom Fighters to attack. They all launch attacks at the skunk but he manages to either evade or outsmart them. Nicole manages to trap him in a nanite bubble for a short period before, to everyone's shock, he shadow-melds out of it. After remarking on how much he hates the technique, the Freedom Fighters attack once more but he continues to dodge their attacks.

While this was going on, the Tarantula had been sitting there, watching, studying. He already advised the other 2 units to move to the castle incase they'd be needed. The first two have an ETA of 60 seconds. The bot notes that while Geoffrey may be unpredictable, it believes he is unaware of what it is capable of. Hearing footsteps behind it, it turns its head slightly and sees Kor stopping short of it, just out of breath. "Huh...huh...what is it pardner?" The fox asked.

The robot simply groans and looks at the fight. Kor looks as well. "So that two-timer finally decided to show himself." Looking around, the engineer takes note as two other Tarantulas close in from different directions. "Wait til I give the signal Terry. I'm gonna help give this traitor what for." He smirked.

Geoffrey avoids another swing from Amy's hammer before grabbing her by the arms and tosses her into the air. Luckily Tails catches her before she decends. "I've always been in service to the king, all of you clearly hadn't thought of which king I was serving. With old Mobotropolis gone and a new government system, I had to do something before the rightful king lost everything."

Sally does a swing kick at the skunk, who easily dodges it. "You aren't making any sense!"

"I don't want to." He smugly replied as he kicked her away. He hears a shot being fired before jumping away as a laser blast hits where his foot was a second ago.

"To clarify, it sounds like Ol' Stinky here doesn't want to accept change." Kor said as he walked to the scene, his cybernetic hand in gun form.

"What took you so long?" Tails asked.

"Busy with other stuff. So Geoff, if you really worked for Naugus this whole time, why did you wait til now to act?" The engineer asked.

"And what would your wife have to say about this?!" Sally exclaimed.

Geoffrey stared at the ground as he sighed. "She...doesn't care about much anymore...Hershey's dead...has been for a while..."

This comes as a shock to most of the Freedom Fighters. Like Geoffrey, Hershey Cat was also a secret agent. They had known her for quite awhile, but they casually remarked that they hadn't seen her in quite a long time. At first, no one thought much of it as she was on some mission. But now, it made sense. Question is, how did she die? One could only assume...

"Either way, Naugus has the right to the crown. And with him as king, all of us will finally be safe!" He proclaimed.

"Or holes in the ground..." Kor muttered.

"Even if you see yourself as a revolutionist, you're still a murderer!" Sally retorted, launching another kick at him.

Geoffrey was many things, but being a murderer was something he would never agree with. He simply jumps to the side. " A 'murderer?' What makes you say that?" He growled as he now avoided attacks from Bunnie and Antoine.

"You said it yourself Geoffrey: Hershey's dead. I don't believe there's any other reason for this aside from you having something to do with it." Sally explained.

Geoffrey looks at the princess with an incredulous look right before Bunnie pins him down with her cybernetic arm. "Gotchya varmit!"

"You all can think of me however you please, but I will not let you besmirch my wife's death!" The skunk retorted before shadow-melding out of Bunnie's grip.

By this time, the other two Tarantulas arrive from different paths. Looking at the battle, they lock their sights on Geoffrey before all 3 rest on their hind legs with their forward ones pointed at the skunk. Kor attempts to stun Geoffrey with his laser but the darn spy keeps shadow melding to avoid his fire. The skunk manages to get close enough to put the engineer in an armlock. The engineer responds by headbutting the skunk with the back of his head, who then kicks him away.

"You are really becoming an annoying one Kor..."

"Really? Hadn't noticed and I suggest you surrender." The fox grunted.

"Or what? None of you can land a hit on me!" Geoffrey laughed.

"Keep laughin' spah. Maybe we can't, but they can." Kor gestured to what was around them.

Geoffrey then notices the 6 laser guns pointed at him from multiple directions. "Dammit, those Freedom Fighters kept me busy so they could set this up..." He muttered.

"Give up now?" Kor said smugly, aiming at him as well.

"Hardly." The skunk chuckled. "Let's see what these tin cans got."

In response, the Tarantulas growled and set their lasers to its highest setting. As they prepared to fire, Sally was slightly conflicted. While she would like to see Geoffrey get torn to pieces, she didn't want this fight to turn bloody. She had to act fast or lasers would fly all over.

"Kor, hold on a sec." She ordered. "Geoffrey, you still believe yourself to be in the right and are completely justified in your actions, right?"

"Obviously."

"Then instead of fighting us, you should be letting justice take its course." The chipmunk pointed out.

Geoffrey pauses for a moment before giving an amused look. "Alright Princess, I'll play along, for now." He said while giving a mock surrender.

Kor sighed before changing his hand back. "None of you take an eye off him." He ordered his robots as he rubbed his head. Maybe that headbutt wasn't a good idea.

As he looked at the others, Kor noticed Nicole slumped next to the crystalized nanites. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. "Whatcha lookin' at sweetie?..."

"Normally, if any part of the city is damaged, I can 'feel' the nanaites...using them to repair anything as needed. But these...Naugus's magic had changed and destroyed them...there's nothing more I can do with them..." Nicole explained.

"Wait, Naugus is that insane wizard right? Well that's just great..." Kor groaned.

Some of the citizens had heard the conversation and whispered among themselves, questioning if Naugus really could save them and if Geoffrey was right. This doesn't go unnoticed by Kor and Sally, who both frown at the audience. "I think it'd be a good idea to make yerself scarce for a bit Nikki...least til things settle, if they ever will..." Kor muttered the last part.

The A.I. nods before dissipating. Kor then looks at Sally. "Remind me why I couldn't just blast him to pieces?..."

"Not only there was a chance it wouldn't work, I didn't want this becoming worse than it needed to be..." Sally explained.

"I thought we could use 'worse' given there's a crazed wizard and his trainee in the city." The fox replied.

"I'm right here you know." Goeffrey pointed out.

"No one asked you!" They both shouted.

-At the Castle-

"As you can see Councilors, Maximillian became my knight while both of us were trapped in the ever irritable Zone of Silence. There, he swore his loyalty to me, and therefore this very kingdom we're in belongs to me." Naugus explained with a grin.

"I cannot hand the crown over to you Ixis Naugus! This crown was passed down to me from my father when he became too sick to rule!" Elias protested.

"There is no way the council is submitting to your rule Naugus!" Rotor shouted.

"Now now don't worry. My apprentice has informed me of the changes and I promise not to disassemble the council, nor do I have a grudge with Acorn bloodline." Naugus calmly replied.

Suddenly, Sonic attacks Naugus out of nowhere and floors the wizard. "What?! How did you get in Sonic?!" Naugus yelled angrily.

"You forgot to close the windows Nauggy." Sonic replied. "Speaking of which, found out Geoffrey was in cahoots with Naugus your majesty. He's still with the others right now."

"That would explain a lot..." Elias muttered.

"Quips and fists will not be enough to overcome my magic you meddlesome hedgehog! You will not stand in the way of justice!" Naugus growled, his staff glowing with power.

"Mind if I get a magical edge Elias?" Sonic asked.

The king responds with throwing the Sword of Light to the hedgehog.

Naugus became confused. "Impossible! The Sword of Acorns was destroyed! I saw it myself!"

"Yeah, but this is the Sword of Light, which was made to counter dark magic, and in this case, you." The blue blur smirked.

Both he and Naugus rush at each other before clashing with their weapons.

-The Eggdome-

While things were taking shape at New Mobotropolis, the Eggdome was far from quiet. Dark Egg Legionnaires were quickly rushing about, making sure systems would be ready and checking for any maintenance issues. It seems Dr. Eggman's project was almost complete. The only thing he required now, was a chaos emerald. At the moment, said doctor and Snively were getting their egg mobiles ready to make a trip to the Special Zone.

"Remember Snively: we only have one chance to succeed, and I don't want you screwing this up! I'm using every watt of power just opening this portal!" Eggman explained.

"Yes uncle...and I'll be leaving you trapped in there..." The short man muttered to himself.

As soon as they enter the weird zone, they are immediately met by Feist. Snively panics while the rotund doctor flashes his trademark smile. "Ah, two mortal have entered my domain. I anticipate you are here for a chaos emerald?"

"That is correct sir! And given by your nature, I assume you want use to compete for it!" Eggman grinned.

"You catch on quick." Feist said before creating a lengthy path filled with corkscrews and pits. At the end was the blue chaos emerald.

Snively inspects the path before gaining some confidence. "Well this should be easy, especially since I'll be leaving you in the dust!" He boasted.

Eggman chuckled. "A little fun before world domination wouldn't hurt, and it's you who'll be left behind you runt."

Feist chuckles at the rivalry. "Your attitude amuses me. You shall begin in 3...2...1!"

Both villains race towards the emerald. Snively manages to take the lead in a few seconds. "Watch your back Snively. We are after the same thing." Eggman told him.

"All your weight must be slowing you down." Snively taunted.

Eggman looked irritated before grinning evilly. Just as the short man was about to reach the emerald, an explosion suddenly rocked his egg mobile, heavily damaging it and rendering it useless. Just then, the mad doctor zooms by and grabs the emerald. One would notice a missile rack on the underside of his vehicle with one of the missiles gone. Doesn't take a genius to know what happened.

"Hah hah! The emerald is mine! Bet you wish you hadn't made that fat joke eh Snively?" Eggman boasted. Suddenly, the emerald was teleported from his hands. "What?!"

"While your attempt to win was very amusing, you must now choose mortal: the human, or the emerald." Feist stated.

Eggman just looked at the demi-god like he had grown a second head. "Is there really a contest to this? The emerald of course!"

"WHAT?!" Snively exclaimed.

The emerald is teleported back to Eggman as a portal opens. "Hmm, Sonic-Blue. Seems fitting for what I'm about to do to those fools in New Mobotropolis!" He grinned.

"Uncle Julian! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!" Snively exclaimed as he tried to get his egg mobile working. His cries fell on deaf ears as the portal closed. The short man was then held in the grasp of the much larger deity. Snively trembled before him.

"Now, what should I do with you..." Feist grinned. Then, to his shock and anger, Snively was teleported out of his grasp. The overlander finds himself back in the Eggdome.

"No one gets to deny me anything." Eggman stated. "Get up Snively! My plan is about to commence." He said as he walked past him.

Snively sits dazed and shocked in his wrecked egg mobile before shakily getting up and walking to the upper levels of the base. Deeper within, Eggman approaches what looks to be a generator and carefully places the emerald inside of it. Within seconds, the machine hums to life. "Readings Snively."

"They're impressive sir! The core is already charged by five percent! All systems are coming online and almost at full power. Hold on...Operation Clean Sweep is now at 10 percent." His whiny voice was heard over the intercom.

Eggman had a wide grin on his face. "Excellent! I'm on my way up to the command center! Begin the countdown!"

"B-But sir, shouldn't we wait til everything is-"

"We are done waiting Snively! It's time to remake the world in my image!" The doctor cut him off before laughing evilly. On the main screen monitor of the command center, a timer began to tick down to zero...

-Back at the Castle-

Sonic and Naugus continue to lock blades. The wizard had changed his staff into a crystal sword and continues to throw spells at Sonic whilst the hedgehog either avoids or cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. "The last king swore fealty to me! He became my knight! The kingdom is mine!"

"Is not." Sonic retorted.

"It is so!"

"Is not." The hedgehog smirked.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is - RARGH! Curse you!" Naugus said, casting a wave of fire at Sonic. However, the hedgehog just cuts through the attack with his sword.

"Either way, you're a villain and everyone knows that." Sonic retorted. "At least I hope everyone does..."

"It is not your place to judge quickster!" The wizard fired back as he summoned a rock spire under Sonic. The hedgehog is thrown back and loses his grip on the sword, but surprisingly, Elias makes a grab for it and attacks Naugus.

"I refuse to hand over my father's crown so easily!" He yelled.

He strikes at Naugus, shattering the old wizard's sword and forces him on the defensive. Naugus casts a volley of spells at Elias, who is able to fend them off. But then, Naugus casts a powerful win that floors Elias. The king finds himself vulnerable to attack, but instead, Naugus offers a hand to him.

"There is no need to fight young king. Your family and myself have fought for a whole generation, but it is time to put our differences aside. If you hand me the crown, you may return to your simpler life." Naugus said.

While Elias had been forced to take the crown in his father's sted, he secretly always opted to live like a regular person. As he explained to Sonic once, he was a little jealous of the freedom his sister had. To be able to go on missions, see the world, it was more enticing than staying in a castle all day. Sonic was a little dazed but storms back to the fray. He takes notice of the council members arguing amongst themselves over the best course of action, though unknowingly Naugus is once again using his magic to amplify their emotions. Elias notices as well and pauses to think.

"Well Elias, what shall it be?" Naugus asked with a grin.

Before the king could answer, the ground violently shook as if an earthquake was happening. Anyone who was standing is quickly thrown to the floor.

"Ugh! Things are already bad enough without you making magical quakes Naugus!" Sonic yelled.

"This is not my doing...rather...something far away has shaken with great force..." Naugus said in thought.

"Maybe Eggman finally emerged from hiding..." Elias said, hoping that wasn't the case.

"You may be right...alright Nauggy, we'll put this fight on hold for now. Open the front door." Sonic ordered before he and Naugus sped to the entrance.

"I do not take orders, especially from a troublesome hedgehog like yourself." Naugus replied, yet made the crystalline wall disappear. They both noticed a large shadow beginning to loom over the city. Upon looking at the sky, they couldn't believe their eyes...

Back at the Civic Center, everyone there experienced the same thing as those at the castle. The Tarantulas had to sit on all fours to avoid falling over.

"What...was that?" Tails asked.

"An earthquake?" Bunnie asked.

"Odd...the city isn't near any major fault lines..." Kor stated as he began to stand.

"Um...I am thinking that was not an earthquake..." Antoine said, looking at the sky.

"What makes you say-ooooh myyy..." Sally said as she looked up.

"Holy crap...what in tarnation is that?..." Kor asked with fear in his voice.

By now, everyone was looking at a large object that was beginning to cast a shadow over the city. The object in question was a large, black, egg-shaped flying structure with what looked like Eggman's face built on the front. The Death Egg Mark II had launched...

A/N: And cut! Welp, you've seen it all people. All that time Eggman spent in hiding was to build his flying superfortress: The Death Egg. Yes it was actually ripped off from Star Wars, but you can blame the creators for that one. Anyway, what are the heroes to do to get out of this one? Find out next chapter.