Aaaaand it's another beautiful morning over here where I'm at with today's temp actually being reasonable this time instead of the Sahara style extremes heat and humidity where when you shower and you come out and dry yourself with a towel you'll still feel wet and uncomfortable lol. But aside from there here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! ^u^

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or locations. They belong to Sega.

Chapter 12: The Encounter III

"Eggman?"

The man in question grinned evilly while he puts an electrical device away. "Hello, hedgehog. Did you miss me?"

"I don't know how you got back, but you made a big mistake coming here." green eyes watched with rage.

"Oh contraire mon frere! The mistake was thinking that you've won. But that was just a prelude, an d'oeuvre, an aperitif, an Amuse-bouche-."

"I get it." the voice said tensely.

Eggman laughed in the same menacing tone as he walks forward waving a finger. "I don't think you do. But you will. And so will that idiot sheriff and his wife."

The hedgehog's hand turns into a fist, blue lightning coming out with an expression filled of intense anger.

"And your little dog too!" Eggman adds.

That was the final straw as the hedgehog dashes forward to throw a hard punch.

But then Eggman moves aside and a mysterious red being comes out with a raised fist and rage-filled face, red lightning crackling around their fist.

The hedgehog was surprised not expecting that.

POW!

He was pummeled into a wall and destroying a television, laying dazed on a couch behind him until his vision clears up and he sees the red being clearly this time.

"Pitiful." the crimson lifeform muttered as it walked around the destroyed wall. The hedgehog was confused. "Who are you?"

Eggman sticks his head through the hole happily. "Where… are my manners?" he said walking around and joining with the red creature. "Sonic… meet Knuckles. My new BFFAE. Bestest friend forever and ever!"

Sonic gets up from the couch hoisting a bag that jingled around his shoulders. "Look, Robotnik, I don't care who you bring to help you. You're never gonna take my power."

"Do I look like I need your power?" Knuckles said raising a fist filled with red lightning. Sonic dashes at him preparing to strike, but…

POW!

…

…

…

A teal-green mobian dragon and orange mobian pheasant soared through the skies over Chun-nan currently being destroyed by robotic forces that laid siege to it using missiles and lasers. The duo scanned the area for any civilians nearby and luckily didn't see any within the buildings covered in fire and smoke.

"Alright Cinder you ready for this!" the dragon asked their partner.

"Yeah Dulcy, let's kick some butt!" Cinder cheered at her teammate. Dulcy nodded and looked to her right, spotting a small clearing. "Let's land there!"

The two glided towards the clearing and landed without issue, looking around the intersection they were in. The section of the town they were in was being decimated by egg-shaped robots that threw all kinds of weapons at buildings, the duo watching the rooftops cave in and catch in flames while others toppled down towards the ground. Cinder gasped seeing some of the bridges being destroyed with the water running through it cut off from the main river that flowed into the town.

"Th-This is terrible Dulcy! We have to stop this!" the orange pheasant girl said.

"You read my mind!" Dulcy then noticed a group of robots flying towards their direction and began surrounding the pair. Guns, swords and missiles were aimed and ready to kill, red robotic eyes showing intimidation and no emotion.

The teal dragon and orange pheasant got into battle stances, their backs against one another as they slowly moved around.

"Remember your training Cinder. This is the real thing so we can't hold back." Dulcy whispered to her younger teammate. The latter nodded with a determined face. "Don't worry, Knuckles showed us how to be brave and with his help along with Master Shuifon's it'll be no problem."

The two continued to rotate around themselves looking for any opening, or if the enemy was about to strike. The only sound resonating was from the thrusts of the jet packs attached to the robots, the yellow and orange glow being let out towards the ground. They stayed in formation, not moving at as if only an order would make them do anything.

ZAP!

However, one robot shot a laser upon seeing the duo look away for a second. It headed straight for Cinder!

…

Yet the pheasant was no longer there.

"HIYAH!"

Just as the robot's head was no longer on its body.

A swift strike across its neck severed it from the rest of its being in which electrical sparks shot off the inside of its neck, its jet pack failing causing the body to fall onto the ground. The red eyes on the head deactivated slowly, turning into pitch black thereafter.

Cinder reappeared next to Dulcy within a second, smirking at the dragon girl. "See, no problem at all."

Dulcy returned the gesture. "Alright so now that they tried to attack us, let's show them our counterattack!" the teal-colored Shinjin warrior then inhaled deeply.

WHOOSH!

Instantly letting out a stream of fire as she encircled herself and Cinder with a wall of flames. The robots flew back to avoid the intense heat, yet it caused their gaze on them to disappear as they were hidden behind it.

"TAKE THIS!"

A clawed hand came out the wall and swiped quickly across the first robot, damaging it heavily and making it blow up. Dulcy was seen within the fire flying at high speeds, her sharp nails cutting through the first wave of robots that hovered. Combined with the intense heat of the flames her attack became more deadly to which gaping claw marks were present within the mechs which destroyed them almost immediately.

Dulcy wasn't done yet as she extended the flame wall further, spinning faster and faster to create more space. The egg-shaped fiends then beeped once and from that, all hell broke loose when missiles were launched.

"NOT SO FAST!"

Cinder shot up into the air and glided down towards the missiles. She took a hold of an oncoming one and with great strength threw it against another oncoming one.

BOOM!

The other missile collided with the one she threw and Cinder repeated the same action over and over again, appearing as a blur within the air.

The wall of flame began dying down to which the robots flew in for the attack. Dulcy instantly dodged a sword tip coming right at her and she countered with a roundhouse kick, the robot flying into another.

Explosions were heard from the impact as several more mechs were heading their way. The teal-green dragon rushed at them head on, dodging the lasers that shot towards her and flying through them with the help of her wings.

Cinder landed on the floor gracefully and saw a group of egg-shaped mechs rushing towards her. She smiled sweetly just as an axe was centimeters near her body.

And was found embedded inside the head of one of the robots. The orange pheasant expertly punched and kicked all the attacking robots, her martial arts a blur to which heavy blows were dealt against her adversaries. Overhead kicks, uppercuts, sideswipes, roundhouse kicks, fast bullet punches and various other styles were observed from Cinder's arsenal of attacks. She grabbed the handle of a robot's sword and swung it upward, cutting one in half from the bottom up and expertly swung it around her shoulders to pierce another right through the chest behind her.

"Hehe can't catch me pphhfft!" Cinder blew a raspberry as she ran towards a battalion of them coming at her. What they didn't know was her hands began glowing.

Dulcy destroyed a mech with a swipe of her tail, blocking a mace with her scaled arm. She then grabbed the weapon fluidly and pounded it back into the robot's head, causing it to short circuit and fall to the ground.

BOOM!

Dulcy's ears detected the sound of a stray missile hitting a nearby building, her eyes turning to see said building beginning to topple over. She turned back towards a robot holding a missile launcher over their shoulder. Dulcy took off at high speeds towards it and delivered a strong punch through it, ripping out its power source from the other side and crushing it in her hand. The mech itself fell with static coming out its torso.

"You do not lay waste to our home any longer…" she breathed out fire from her nostrils in rage, onyx eyes turning into slits as she eyed the other mechs on the advance. She catapulted herself at blinding speeds to more of them coming at her. Dulcy's claws were ready for the attack, a yellow glow encompassing her palms.

Cinder grinned seeing the oncoming adversaries with weapons drawn to her. Missiles were already flying out with lasers at the forefront, causing her to weave and dodge around them so she doesn't get struck. Her small frame worked to her advantage as she was not an easy target.

'Hehe Jian was right, being small does work for me! At least she doesn't call me pipsqueak anymore.' Cinder thought barrel rolling around a missile that flew by her. Once she got close enough to the first robot she threw her palm forward, the same bright glow becoming more apparent on her hand.

WHOOSH!

A blinding burst of energy radiated off her attack and thrusted the mech backwards towards the others, followed by a shockwave of yellow light that short-circuited the remaining ones and causing them to explode in unison.

Cinder grinned at the result with her hand's glow fading away. "Alright looks like it works against these things as well!" she said. Her eyes widened however, jumping up into the air barely dodging the large missile that flew below her and striking a building nearby and causing it to crumble towards the ground. The Shinjin warrior looked back in anger at another group of mechs heading her way, her knuckles cracking. "Alright no more playtime."

Dulcy rushed through the robots like a flash of light with several streaks being left behind her wake. Just like Cinder her hands were imbued with the same energy as she clawed her way through the group and left none to spare. Deep cuts were seen within them to which the mechs blew up immediately, smoke rising into the purple-pink sky with electrical components flying high along with it.

The teal dragon smashed her way through the last robot and stopped herself with the help of her wings, looking back to see it fall slowly backwards and blow up upon hitting the ground.

"That should be the last of them."

BOOM!

Dulcy spoke too soon as she quickly looked towards the direction of Cinder, seeing her battle against a large cluster of mechs with A LOT more following as well. Based on what she perceived on Cinder's slightly worried expression meant that she wouldn't hold out much longer.

The Shinjin warrior leader took off in a sonic boom as she inhaled once again but instead of the seething flames being charged in her mouth, a deep blue was emerging from it.

Cinder was sweating upon keeping the robots at bay, dodging and counterattacking all the missiles, lasers and weapons thrown at her. She felt her energy beginning to drain at the near limitless amount coming at her; add to the fact that she was less experienced than the others and had lower stamina.

'Oh no what do I do?! I'm getting tired and there's too many! Dulcy you better hurry-!'

Instant frost struck her enemies all at once with their attacks immediately halting. The orange pheasant looked surprise and turned to see her older teammate unleash a torrent of ice breath at their foes to which they froze in place with their gears coming to a halt and their glowing eyes slowly deactivating. The missiles flying in lost their thrusts and clanked onto the ground with the lasers becoming solid and striking several of the robots upfront.

Dulcy lessened her frost breath until eventually she stopped, breathing lightly from the attack. "Phew doing that does take a lot out of me." she said to herself until she turned to Cinder. "You good so far?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired. This is the most fun I'm having though hehe!" the teen bird girl cheered. Dulcy shook her head with a grin knowing that Cinder will still have that childish personality when she gets older, but luckily she can hold her own and face her fears which made the teal dragon proud of her.

…

Onyx eyes widened along with green ones, the duo hearing several more jets echoing in the town. They turned their heads up above and saw hundreds of mechs coming at them from a portal that opened up randomly behind them.

"…ready for round 2?" Dulcy muttered to Cinder while keeping her gaze at the mechs.

"Yeah, but how are we gonna beat all that?" was Cinder's response.

The dragon girl ran through several thoughts in her head looking for an answer.

It didn't take long for one to pop up with a slow grin coming on her face. "Do you remember that formation we did a while ago?"

Cinder's eyes widened knowing of it. "You mean that? We haven't been able to get it right though?!"

"It's okay, I know it'll work this time because at the shrine we've been holding back for everyone's safety… mainly towards the temple hehe. But I'll know it'll work now and it's the only one I can think of." Dulcy explained.

The orange pheasant had an unsure look on her face, her eyes wandering from her older teammate to the mechs coming in hot above them. "Well alright and I'm hoping you're right Dulcy."

"Trust me Cinder, this is me being a leader." Dulcy replied with a smile. Cinder looked at her returning the gesture. "And I'm glad you're our leader."

The sounds of missiles and lasers suddenly got to their ears as the duo looked back, seeing the incoming attacks.

"Can't stand here any longer so let's take to the skies Cinder!"

"Right on your tail Dulcy!"

The dragon and pheasant jumped high into the air, Dulcy spreading her wings while Cinder did the same with her feathered arms. The two flew away from the incoming attacks with several of them striking the ground which created several explosions rupturing the earth beneath and causing smoke and debris to fly into the air.

"You take left and I take right okay?!" Dulcy yelled at her partner.

"Got it!" Cinder gave her a thumbs up as they split, an even number of robots in pursuit at each girl.

Dulcy looked over her shoulder to see the mechs following her while firing their weapons. She dodged each of them while weaving around burning buildings and debris falling from the sky. She looked above the ominous looking clouds composed of dark purple-pink energy.

'Just what is going on here. Why attack our home?'

Her thought process was cut off as she sensed an incoming slash coming from behind her, narrowly escaping the sharp steel from a sword held by one of the robots. She barrel rolled once looking back and charged fire within her mouth, letting it out a second later and firing a ball of flame towards the mech. It was covered in conflagration and struck a nearby building, the glass shattering and catching flames from within.

"It's the only way unfortunately." she muttered eyeing the buildings being destroyed by other mechs. She inhaled again and fired off a series of fireballs, most of them hitting their intended target while missing others. Several explosions were let off in the air as Dulcy weaved through the buildings being chased by the robots, lasers firing towards her to which she expertly dodged and used the incoming missiles as countermeasures by doing the same thing Cinder did which was grabbing them and throwing them against the others. The air rattled with tremors and vibrations that caused cracks to form on the pavement below in their wake.

Dulcy barrel rolled again right side up and looked ahead to see that she was on the edge of the town.

"Okay now to fly high!" the teal dragon began rising higher up until she was a few feet near the purple-pink mist up above. "Not too close though." she muttered then looked across to where Cinder was and smiled.

"I'm coming now." Dulcy then bolted off towards her teammate at breakneck speeds, the remaining mechs continuing their chase behind her.

Cinder flew low on the ground as she looked over her shoulder to see the robots chasing her at high speeds. She turned around and saw several undamaged bridges up ahead which were built low near the water, meaning that in order to go through them either she goes above or dive into the water.

She had another idea however as she spotted several openings within the sides of the bridges. It's also good enough to know that the orange pheasant was born with a small frame.

"Let's do it." she said with a grin as she picked up speed, Cinder hearing the sounds of jets behind her becoming more prominent. She kept her emerald eyes on the bridges to which they approached closer and closer with each passing second.

Tunnel vision encompassed her field of view, time going slower for the young Shinjin warrior. Her breathing was steady, feathered arms remaining spread out as she felt the intense wind going past her body. Sounds of explosions, lasers and jets were prominent all around but she maintained her focus. The bridge just several inches away.

WHOOSH!

She instantly placed her arms near her sides and torpedoed her way through the holes, effortlessly coming out the other side with the mechs striking the bridge and being destroyed in the process. Cinder smiled at the result.

Another bridge incoming.

She did the same thing, feathered arms near her sides and diving through at breakneck speeds.

Same result, the mechs colliding with the bridge and letting out more explosions that rattled the air with intense energy and heat.

Cinder kept up the momentum, passing through each bridge effortlessly with eyes focused on the path ahead. Each bridge had a different layout to them so she had milliseconds to think of her next move and where to pass through.

Fortunately her training with the girls and Knuckles paid off, her reflexes at high levels to which she can hold her own. She was no longer the small little girl that held her team back. She was no longer the small little girl that messed up constantly on her training.

She was no longer that.

Closing her eyes Cinder kept passing through the bridges as if they became second nature, the explosions behind her becoming distant to her ears. In her mind the image of her team materialized, their smiles bringing joy and warmth to her and showing that they truly care for Cinder. Not only that but another was present right near them.

Knuckles. With a smile that radiated confidence and strength.

'Just like them. Just like him.'

Cinder opened her eyes instantly, passing the last bridge and spreading her arms. She was at the edge of town as well to which she shot up vertically into the air. The ominous mist fell onto her gaze as she rose higher and higher.

"Alright so at this point Dulcy should already…" she looked over her shoulder and just as predicted, she can see the teal dragon coming towards her in the distance. "Right there!" Cinder bolted off towards Dulcy.

The teal dragon saw the orange pheasant coming at her with increasing speed so she did the same, flapping her wings once to get an extra boost and becoming more aerodynamic. Onyx eyes met green ones to which they knew the plan, their peripheral vision catching the large cluster of robots flying behind them with missiles and lasers being launched at the two.

Miles turned into meters.

Meters turned into feet.

Feet turned into inches.

Inches turned into centimeters.

Centimeters turned into millimeters.

Hands glowed with that same yellow energy in their hands.

"AND GO!"

Dulcy and Cinder instantly grabbed each others' hands and spun in place. Their other hands were opposite and spread out to which the glow on them became brighter and brighter.

Their spinning became faster and faster to which within seconds a large tornado of bright light emerged and the robots continued their pursuit.

BOOM!

They were no match as all the oncoming mechs were instantly destroyed by the tornado. All the missiles, lasers and melee weapons were ineffective against it, disintegrating into the bright energy.

Dulcy and Cinder held onto each other for dear life, experiencing the fastest speeds they've ever felt noted by their clenched teeth and tightened eyes.

'KEEP GOING!' they both thought. Their hold began to loosen from the high-speed momentum with their other hands experiencing the physical attacks they were inflicting when the robots collided with them. The tornado acted as a shield which protected them, the bright glow countering the physical assault from the mechs.

One last explosion was heard as Dulcy opened an eye just in time, seeing a bit of their surroundings in the clear within a second. "YOU CAN LET GO NOW!"

"OKAY!" was Cinder's response.

They immediately did, the tornado instantly disappearing. Their momentum however was carried over as the two flew away at high speeds. Dulcy quickly spread out her wings to slow down while Cinder did the same with her arms and legs. The force they felt from the attack they gave nearly winded them as noted from their heavy breathing.

The duo then flew close to each other with a smile. "Whooo that was intense!" Cinder yelled happily.

"Yeah, the formation worked in the end hehe." Dulcy replied with a smirk. Lowering themselves to the ground they looked up to see bits and pieces of metal fall from the sky, the sound of clanks and grinds being heard from all around.

"That should be all of them from this side of the town." Cinder said with Dulcy nodded at her. "Yup but it looks like it's not over yet." the teal dragon looked up above. "That mist is still there."

"Yeah… hey what's going on over there?" Cinder looked away and pointed ahead. Dulcy followed her direction and saw a sphere of purple energy growing larger in the distance.

"I'm not sure, but that doesn't look like good news and-hold on, is that-?"

Dulcy's words were cut off as she saw a streak of red lightning coming at them at sonic speeds. Rapid footsteps were heard pounding on the floor as well.

Cinder's eyes widened with a giant grin on her face. "IT'S KNUCKLES!"

Soon enough the familiar red echidna made himself known as he stopped a few feet away with a serious expression. "Are you two okay?" he said.

"Yup never better! You should've seen our fight though we were like POW and BAM and WHOOSH and-MMMPPGGHGFFHFH!" the small pheasant's beak was covered by the scaled hand of Dulcy who smiled sheepishly. "We took out the enemies in this part of town is what she's saying hehe."

Knuckles smiled. "That's good, your training has paid off and I'm proud of both of you."

Cinder's green eyes sparkled in joy looking at him, almost tearing up at his words. The red echidna gave a thumbs up but then changed his expression back to his serious one after. "Aside from that we have to get out of Chun-nan quickly."

"Wait why?" the Shinjin warrior leader asked.

"No time to explain. We must hurry and get the others, Master Shuifon and Zonshen. Have they met up with you yet?" Knuckles questioned.

"No we haven't seen them. They still must be in the north and west side of town and Master Shuifon may still be with Zonshen at the temple." Dulcy explained.

Knuckles grunted in frustration then turned back to the purple vortex getting larger. "We have to find them quickly."

"What is that Knuckles?" Cinder made her voice known again as she pointed at the vortex.

The red echidna could only watch her in slight sadness. "Something that none of us can beat."

The two Shinjin warriors gasped at his words. Knuckles shook his head however. "Don't take my words to heart however as we'll make sure that Chun-nan comes back stronger than ever. We just need to get out of here, and don't worry all the civilians have evacuated the town so it's just us."

"Alright Knuckles so where to!" Cinder cheered with Dulcy nodding and awaiting his orders.

"We're going to find Jian and Bunker. From there we find Master Shuifon and Zonshen. From there… wherever we may find peace…"

End of Chapter 12

Alright and that's a wrap! So it looks like two of the Shinjin Warriors were able to fend off the attack, but how are the other two doing in their part of the town? Will Knuckles and his friends save Chun-nan or will it fall to this evil? Stay tuned! ^u^