Hello again, some of you might seem a bit surprised with how quickly this chapter came out. I usually go for two a month but I guess I got done with this chapter rather fast, despite the length. But I'm still excited for this one, as a cool reveal at the end sets up the next chapter for a climactic battle. So without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 9: True Intents
G.U.N. HQ: Medcenter
"Excuse me?" Dr. Solace was quick to judge. She had stopped mid-packing her supplies to ease in on the conversation. Silver was just as shocked too. "You're saying that the commander is behind all of this?" Solace questioned James further.
"I didn't believe it either when the prisoner told us." James retorted. "But it all made sense when I put together all the little bits of information."
"Such as?" Silver asked.
"He was the only one in the building with clearance to the waste receptacle. He had to have been the one who let the intruders in. Not only that but isn't it also strange that as soon as this organization was put in the spotlight, Tower just so happened to know about them and kept it all a secret?"
"You're getting all of this from a deranged killer. He would say anything to get us off his skin. Besides, we need clearer evidence." Silver argued. He wasn't sold that Tower would be the defector. He knew him as stoic and loyal to his comrades. To do something like betray all of that, was absurd to Silver. What would be the motive? To gain more of a hand over G.U.N. than he already had? All that Silver thought was happening was an elaborate wild goose chase, while the real culprit continues about their schemes.
"It's clear enough to me." Shadow chimed in, much to Silver and Solace's dismay. "It makes too much sense. He's scared of what I have to offer, and what that power can do to devastate his whole plans. That's why he had me on the backfill, and that's why he refuses to give me the code for my inhibitor rings." James, now seeing that someone in the room is backing him up, stands up from his bed.
"Then we can go and confront the matter to him ourselves, Shadow."
"No, you won't, you're still hurt." Solace tried to talk James out of it, but James soon barked back.
"Then put a cast on me. We can't waste any more time." James looks over to Shadow, to which the hedgehog nods. "We'll bring Omega with, just in case the commander wants to pull something on us." Solace quickly wraps a shoulder brace around James. Both James and Shadow head outside the room, and with a tap on the bot's shoulder, Shadow gestures to Omega to follow them down the hall. Silver and Solace do nothing but remain in the med center, disappointed in both of their decisions.
Space Station: Central Tower
Starline was staring out the window of the main tower. The feeling of betrayal, shock, and humility as he watches his home be desecrated further by Eggman, using the Egg Wyrm to extract the core from Planet Hymn, shattering the broken shell of a surface. Starline had not expected this to be the outcome of his collaboration with Eggman. All he was briefed on was a way out of being used. To be free from the surveillance of the Abyss Voyagers, but Eggman played him. Played with his good intentions and tricked his ambition into something wicked. He had never felt so helpless before when the mad doctor revealed his true intent. Starline had the power to fight back but he froze, and he didn't know why. Something about seeing your hero stab you in the back, even before getting to meet you, quaked all of Starline's reality. Now he was seeing the results of being so gullible, now no one will look at him as a scientist who innovates generations to come, only that he was the man who helped a monster destroy what little remained of their home.
The blast doors to the room shifted open, and entering was Vulnter, bruised and battered. Starline notices her presence, but doesn't take his eyes away from the window and speaks to her without paying her any mind. "Now we both have been pulled under the rug."
"You didn't know that this was going to happen?"
"I never would've gone along with it if I did, but I failed to realize his endgame in time." Starline somberly replies. Vulnter limps over to him. However, she doesn't attack or threaten Starline, but simply stands beside him, looking out the window.
"Guess we both fell victim to oversight." Vulnter said. "I know he's after me now, and this station can no longer guarantee my safety. Despite not retrieving Tails, I have to leave." Starline was confused, he was under the impression that Vulnter had no sympathy toward him. Perhaps he was still right, but for her to reveal all this information to him was odd.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"We both were duped by Eggman. I can sense your resentment. So I'm offering you an escape. I respect your work, your ambitions. You'd make a great asset for the Abyss Voyagers." Starline was even more out of the loop now. Was she being serious, or did she want to use him further? He remembered how she was greatly fond of his warp topaz. However, she had always been more straightforward than Eggman. So perhaps what she is saying is ultimately true. "Where else do you have to go? Back to the man who wants to enslave your mind? Face the facts, you are nothing to him." Starline felt the taste of truth in those words. He understood the sentiment Eggman gave him was never genuine. But he didn't understand why he still felt obligated to remain. Everything that Vulnter promised him was a paradise compared to this, but he felt like he had already done something similar before. Leaving his life behind to achieve something grand, and all he helped was a monster. Did he have the guts to do it again?
"He won't stop. When he's done with this place and free, he'll come after all of you next. There's no telling what he's willing to do with all that power that I helped build with him. If he continues, then I have no way of leaving that behind. He must be stopped." Vulnter is disappointed, and she sways her way back to the blast doors, ready to leave.
"Shame… Hey, could you at least lend me that gemstone?" Vulnter said, desperately trying to get anything out of this.
"No, you have no idea what it's capable of. Even the slightest hint of extra charge to it will cause reality around itself to distort. I'm not denying you out of spite, but for your own safety." Vulnter sighs.
"You're such a buzzkill, Starline." Vulnter leaves the room, leaving Starline to conduct the next part of his plan. The machine he helped build, the Egg Wyrm, was formidable. He would need a little help taking it down.
Space Station: Streets
Team Sonic was in disarray. Sonic was pacing around, Tails was fiddling with a few of his gadgets, and Knuckles was sitting on the ground to himself. They had no idea what to do. Their ace in the hole, the chaos emeralds, turned out to be a ruse the whole time. With the true power of the chaos emeralds and the core of Planet Hymn, the Egg Wyrm seemed nigh impossible to touch. Sonic was wondering how Tails was handling it all, he couldn't help but feel like Tails blamed himself just a little bit. He knew that this wasn't Tails' fault, but Eggman definitely tried to make a point about the inspiration for the fake emeralds. Sonic just didn't want that burden to hold his buddy back. "Are you ok?" Sonic asked Tails. The fox perked his head up and away from his gadgets lying on his lap.
"Yeah, I'm just processing what happened."
"It's not your fault. You could've never known that Eggman would steal your design."
"It's not that. Every time we get swindled like this, I always have a plan to fix it. But… I can't think of anything right now."
"Well, if the power from the chaos emeralds is inside that mech, you can break into it and absorb the power to become Super." Knuckles suggested.
"I… I don't think even Super Sonic can take this thing down." Sonic and Knuckles were taken aback, the possibility that going super wouldn't be enough was staggering. Was there no option left to stop Eggman? "At least when the Egg Wyrm is absorbing the core of the planet. That core is irradiating some scary energy, but maybe Eggman has to further calibrate his mech to handle that immense power. If we can get to it before it recharges, we might have a shot to shut it down."
"I guess that leads to how we're gonna find this thing." As if right on cue, an orange portal forms above Sonic. An envelope gracefully floats down on the hedgehog's head before the portal seals back up.
"Where did that come from?" Knuckles exclaims. Sonic immediately recognizes the portal and puts two and two together.
"I know that portal. This is Dr. Starline's work." Sonic grabs the envelope resting on his head and opens it. A letter, neatly written, is what Sonic pulls out. 'Sonic, there isn't much time left. It won't be long until Eggman fully powers the Egg Wyrm. If he does, then he'll be unstoppable. You've put some clarity in my head that I was too stubborn with my own pride and ego to acknowledge. Thanks to you, I'm done letting that madman use my passion as a disposable tool. I'll open the way forth for all of you to take him, so get ready to jump back into the action. -Starline' Sonic finishes reading the letter before noticing that Tails and Knuckles are hovering over him, reading it too.
"What does that all mean?" Knuckles asks.
"Means that we get our shot to finish this."
G.U.N. HQ
Shadow, Omega, and James march down the hallway, in venture to Commander Tower's office. Shadow noticed that James was eager to be here, with a strong confident expression painted along his face. His mood had vastly changed since the start of the day. He seemed more shrill and coy than this assured start of mind he's in. Eventually, the three make it to the entrance of Tower's office. Shadow slowly creaks the door open, but something they didn't expect was that the room was pitch black, and no visible sign of Tower was seen. James unholsters a pistol that was strapped to his side, while Omega reves up his guns. They cautiously step inside, checking each corner. Shadow approaches the desk and looks underneath. Nothing again. "How did he slip out?!" James yells. "Omega! Can you pick up any trace?" James snaps toward Omega, who was idly standing by the entrance.
*NEGATIVE. HIS TRAIL RUNS COLD.*
"Great, he could be anywhere now. Where are we supposed to look for him now?" James said. Shadow, remaining beside the desk, presses a button located underneath the desk.
"We won't have to look far." Back at the entrance, a hidden door slides down, revealing Tower waiting inside the compartment of a panic room. Tower lunges forward and plunges a cord into the back of Omega's head. The cord transmits electrical impulses into the bot's circuits, causing him to spazz out as his mechanics spark and electrify. James sees Tower and immediately points his pistol right at him. But before he could fire, Shadow swoops forward and knocks the gun right out of James' hand. Tower follows suit with an uppercut into James' chin. James is knocked back into the desk and stumbles back on his feet. He looks up and sees Shadow and Tower standing side by side.
"Shadow, what are you doing? He's the traitor." James pleaded.
"You mean to tell me after all the Commander had been through, how G.U.N. had devastated his life, and still remained loyal for years, that he would be the one to defect?" Shadow counterpoints.
"Everything adds up. The way he's been acting, how there were constant secrets kept by him."
"May I?" Tower asks Shadow, to which he nods. "Truth is, I was fishing. I knew that whoever infiltrated us wanted to take us out at the highest rank. I figured those who were corrupt had a bigger tendency to try and usurp me whenever I laid the evidence that I was the one behind everything. The uniform in the receptacle? I planted it there to start the trail. Which leads me to you, James. You're smart, I'll give you that. But you've only been in G.U.N. for a year, and with no background in your files, are you really that stupid to think that you were among the group of individuals I could trust the most?" James was starting to feel the heat drown him. He wasn't liking this scenario, biting his nails to express his anxiety.
"What are you talking about?" James interjects. Shadow steps forward, now ready to present his piece.
"I never paid much mind to how odd your choice of words and actions were due to your 'anxious' demeanor. But looking back, you were the one who wanted us to pass by Soleana, you added doubt to the investigation, you tried shifting the focus away from your real 'friends' and toward Tower. No wonder you were so keen to take him down today. But when everything was falling apart, you tried one more trick. You waited until you were alone with Omega, and placed one of these in him." Shadow reaches behind Omega's head and digs deep into the bot's hardware. Shadow rips out an internal hard drive with the nine tails logo imprinted on it. "A virus hacking his neural processor. Well, is there anything left to say?" James quits biting his nails. He then calmly rests his hand on the desk, forming a big grin on his face.
"Heh, I'm starting to regret taking that bullet for you. For a second, I really thought I had you on my side, Shadow."
"You would've if Tower didn't previously explain what really was happening."
"Good work everyone" James mockingly chants. "But you're too late." Suddenly, a squad of G.U.N. soldiers form up behind Shadow and Tower, aiming their weapons right at them. One of the soldiers rips off the cord attached to Omega. Omega powers back up, but now his eyes have been replaced by the symbol of the nine tails. "Unfortunately for you, the virus has already embedded itself into Omega's mainframe. He's our pawn now." Omega immediately goes into battle mode and aims his arm cannons at Shadow and Tower.
*NEW PRIMARY DIRECTIVE. ELIMINATE REMAINING G.U.N. LOYALISTS.* Shadow and Tower are trapped. Corned in the room where they had set their own bait. James strolls through the room, walking past the two, and leaving through the office door. Before traveling further down the hallway, James turns to the soldiers.
"When you're done cleaning this mess, inform Harrow and Arsonal to initiate phase two." James leaves the soldiers to themselves, backed up by the now-corrupted Omega. As the soldiers step further into the room, James makes his way down the hall. Within an instant, the soldiers open fire. Shadow swiftly tackles Tower to the ground, guiding him away from the bullet fire. Shadow pulls him back behind the desk and hides him there. Shadow zooms back out of cover and dives in to sweep the legs of the soldiers, knocking them down to the ground. Omega opens fire himself, spraying the room with a barrage of fire. Shadow has little room to maneuver, but he manages to avoid the bombardment. Omega ignites his thrusters and blazes forward. The bot grasps Shadow by the neck and pins him to the wall, squeezing his claws harder, making it difficult for Shadow to breathe.
"Omega… stop… we're not your enemy." Shadow's plea falls on deaf ears, however.
*THIS MACHINE NO LONGER TAKES ORDERS FROM YOU.* Before Omega could finish Shadow off, the bot is enveloped in a light blue aura. Omega starts to lose his footing on the ground and his grip on Shadow. Omega is raised further in the air and is violently thrown forward into the wall, causing rubble to cover the bot and briefly incapacitate him. Shadow and Tower look to their savior. Silver was standing in front of the doorway, looking incredibly angry.
"I knew whatever you were doing was a bad idea."
"Appreciate the save." Shadow thanks, Silver.
"Nevermind that, what's going on? First, you come here to confront Tower, now more of G.U.N. is after you?"
"It's not Tower who's the traitor, it was James."
"Where is he now?"
"You must have just missed him. He ran down the hall. Any idea where he could be going next?" Shadow directs his attention to Tower.
"James was trying to usurp me and assume position of Commander. But with that plan out of the way, he could only have full control over G.U.N. if he used that virus to hack all of our drones."
"Where can we find that?"
"It's in the control room on the eastmost side of the building. I can lead the way." Tower says as he gets ready to embark. However, before they leave, Shadow stops and thinks about something that James said. The names he mentioned, Harrow and Arsonal, Shadow was wondering who they were. It was a bold consideration, but Shadow assumed that these two could've been the hooded figure they'd previously encountered. If James had been directly referring to them, then it was possible…
"Silver, is anyone left guarding the med center?"
"No, it was just Solace and Rouge left." Shadow's eyes widened. He knew that if the two hooded figures were coming, or even here now, then Rouge would be in danger and helpless to defend herself.
"You two get to the control room, stop James."
"Where are you going?"
"Rouge is still in danger, I have to get back to her." Shadow speeds out into the hallway, leaving Silver and Tower on their own. Silver floats up into the air and picks up Tower with his psychokinesis.
"Come on, Commander. Time for a little ride." Silver zooms out into the hallway, carrying Tower with him.
G.U.N. HQ: Medcenter
Solace closely monitors Rouge's vitals. Her face seems worried like something unexpected came to pass. "Hang in there." She whispers to Rouge. Solace continues to pack the equipment in the room, but yet again, she is interrupted by Shadow barging in. "What now?"
"We have to leave, now!" Shadow paces forward, determined to get to Rouge.
"Wait, hold on, we're not ready yet." Solace steps in front of Shadow and tries to push him back.
"It doesn't matter, it's too dangerous."
"What do you mean? And where is James?" A loud crash sounds outside the med center, followed by the shattering of glass. Solace peeks her head outside the door and sees a group of G.U.N. soldiers harassing interns and office workers a few meters away. The soldiers pull out these people with force, making them kneel with their hands up. Solace dips back into the med center.
"James was against us the whole time. This base is falling apart, and if Silver and Tower can't stop James before he gains control over all of our drones, G.U.N. is finished. We need a way out of here."
"Shadow, something unexpected came up with Rouge." Shadow listened closer, he was starting to look concerned and worried about what Solace was about to say. "Her vitals are normal, but her body is still recovering from the loss of tissue. I'm doing my best to accelerate the healing, but I need more time under extensive care."
"We don't have the time. Grab what equipment you have packed and we'll take Rouge somewhere safe."
"If you take her now, she'll be in a coma. If that happens, it'll take months for her to fully recover, with extensive care." Shadow is torn, he doesn't know what to do. With more soldiers closing in on their position, it wouldn't be long until they were surrounded. All that Shadow could think of now was to give Solace as much time as she needed.
"How much time do you need to safely move Rouge?" Shadow asked.
"Ten minutes at least. Can you give me that?"
"If I'm not back in fifteen, then get her out of here without me." Shadow then bursts through the door, gaining the attention of the soldiers. They open fire, but Shadow rushes them down quickly enough to disarm and knock them out. "Get out of here!" Shadow yells to the kneeling workers. They stand up and run for cover as more soldiers turn the corner and fire at Shadow. Shadow curls into a ball and bounces across the walls and ceiling, plummeting into the group of attackers. Shadow continues down the hallway, mowing through hoards of treacherous soldiers. Shadow was baffled by how many of their own turned against them. Was there anyone left who wasn't compromised? One of the soldiers fires a concussive round into the wall next to Shadow, which explodes and knocks Shadow off course. He falls to the ground, disorientated. It doesn't end there, as a duo of soldiers use a sonic wave gun to daze Shadow further. Shadow clenches his ears in pain, but the high-pitched waves pierce through his hands. Shadow yells in agony as his ears are continuously being damaged. Shadow quickly thinks to charge up his air shoes and builds up a thrust. When enough thrust is built up, Shadow propels himself forward at blazing speeds, clotheslining the soldiers in front of him.
Shadow's onslaught continues as he dashes further into the hallway, gathering the attention of many more soldiers. However, his speed was too immense for any of them to handle. Shadow bursts forward through the entrance of the base, erupting outside. Shadow is immediately surrounded by more soldiers and even attack helicopters and tanks. They're ready to open fire. "Stop!" The soldiers lower their weapons and turn to face the voice. Emerging from a nearby hill was Harrow, followed by Arsonal. Harrow rejoices as she stares into Shadow's eyes. He was the one she was waiting for. "We meet again, Shadow." Her crackly voice shivered through the air, making Shadow wince. "I've been waiting for this moment to come. Are you ready for another hunt?" Shadow quickly realizes who she was.
"You're the ones we saw in Soleana."
"Indeed. I am Harrow, of the Abyss Voyagers. But tonight, I am your executioner."
Space Station: Hanger
Walking along in the hanger, Vulnter walks over to a small lone ship at the end of the hanger. However, before she gets in, she spots a G.U.N. shuttle parked close by. This was the ship used by Team Sonic to get here, and Vulnter had suspected such. She approaches the shuttle and places a microchip that sticks to the bottom of the ship. The chip periodically flashes red. Vulnter grabs a tablet to sync with the chip, and sure enough, the tablet picks up on the signal of the chip.
Space Station: Secret Lab
Eggman was back on his feet and out of the cockpit of the Egg Wyrm. The Egg Wyrm's head was stationed in the center of the lab, with the rest of its body trailing down a large corridor below the lab and unseen from above. Eggman was examining his computer, eyeing down an algorithm. Being lifted out from the head of the Egg Wyrm by a crane was the core of the mech, withholding the energy of the chaos emeralds. The core is inserted back into another slot on the mech which is at the base of the head. Descending from the top of the lab was another core container, carrying a dark purple sphere erratically bouncing around. This was the core of Planet Hymn, compressed into raw energy, but still wildly unstable. The new core descends down into the old core slot and is inserted. Eggman watches as his computer begins to calibrate this new energy into the Egg Wyrm, which is going along at a sluggish rate. With time to kill, Eggman plops himself on a recliner. "You've outdone yourself this time, Eggman, you really have." Eggman says to himself as he begins to rest on the recliner. Suddenly, a portal warps above the room, and Starline exits through it. Eggman, initially shocked by the abrupt interruption, relaxes and seems disdainful of Starline's arrival. "And here comes the downer. What do you want?"
"When were you going to tell me about the Egg Wyrm's true purpose?"
"What are you talking about?"
"This mech is too dangerous. With the power that you displayed behind my back, you've disclosed that this thing has absurdly destructive capabilities. My home isn't going to be that last of demonstrations, will it?"
"As long as the governments of those planets meet my demands, there won't have to be another demonstration."
"To think that this whole time, I was helping a tyrant." Eggman rises back to his feet. Standing tall and firm.
"If anything it's your fault for helping me. But you were too busy with your own delusional aspiration to see the cracks of my righteous persona. But let's get one thing straight, 'Doctor' Starline, you were never helping me… you were serving me." Starline's eyes widen in anger as he activates the warp topaz. Another portal forms in the room. Jumping through was Team Sonic, ready to face off against Eggman. This was a possibility that Eggman was not ready for, and his bushy mustache droops down in fear. "Oh crud." He mutters. Eggman presses a button located on the chest of his jacket. Openings appear around the room, and automated turrets are lifted into place. The turrets open fire on Team Sonic and Starline, while Eggman calls down his Egg Mobile to pick him up. Starline uses his portals to redirect the bullets targeting them and send them back at the turrets. Despite destroying a handful of the automated deterrents, more arise from the walls, ceiling, and floor. A perfect distraction for Eggman to fly into the cockpit of the Egg Wyrm. Eggman starts booting up the mech, but a display on his computer inside it shows him that the new core is not fully calibrated. "Hrgh! I don't have all day! Hurry up you stupid machine!" Eggman knew that his defenses in the lab wouldn't hold back Team Sonic for much longer. He had to act on his own for just a while more. Eggman flicks a switch inside the cockpit and more openings on the outside of the head of the Egg Wyrm dispense microbots that fly in a large mass.
Sonic, Tails, and Starline are able to distance themselves far enough away from the microbots not to get swarmed, but Knuckles finds himself caught in the middle of them all. Tails quickly swoops over Knuckles and picks him up with one hand. With the swarm gaining on him, Tails whips out his own blaster and shoots into the clutter of microbots. With both Tails and Knuckles distracted, Eggman opens the protective screen in the cockpit and aims a diminutive handgun at the two. Eggman charges the gun and fires, launching a void-colored laser. However, the laser is caught in a portal and moved out of harm's way of Tails and Knuckles. The exit portal appears above the lab and the laser continues its streak down and hits the Egg Wyrm. Eggman is knocked around in the cockpit forcefully. He stares out into the lab and sees Starline eyeing him down. Eggman started to understand what Starline's role was in this battle. He wasn't the aggressor himself, but rather using his portals to alleviate the heat away from Team Sonic and redirect it right back at Eggman. But Eggman also knew one little flaw that the warp topaz had. Since its energy output has to be set to low, the gemstone can only activate one gateway at a time. If Eggman found a way to overwhelm Starline, and give him too many targets to portal away, then they didn't stand a chance.
Eggman checked the display of the Egg Wyrm again, the calibration of the core was only 73% done. The only way the doctor could hope to overwhelm his opponents was to activate the Egg Wyrm and use its defenses, but doing it so soon, before the assessment of the core was complete, could spell disaster for him. But he was running out of time, and Team Sonic were running out of distractions, and they'd soon target the Egg Wyrm. Eggman sighs, he didn't want it to come down to this, but it had to happen. Eggman locates a big multicolored button at the center of his control panel and presses it. The Egg Wyrm sparks to life, with both cores giving it ample amounts of energy. The head of the mech is outfitted with plenty of weapons, which soon target Team Sonic. Tails and Knuckles may have shaken off the swarm, but now they are directly targeted by the onslaught of the Egg Wyrm's turrets, which are far more devastating. Sonic maintains a good pace with the turret's fire, but it is soon apparent that it is too much for him to handle all at once, and a stray blast catches him off guard and knocks him to the floor, injured.
Starline tries his best to keep up with all the fire, but he can only portal at so many places at a time. Starline couldn't lose Team Sonic's support. If he did, then Eggman would carry out his plan with little resistance. Despite this knowledge, Starline was seeing few options left to keep the three alive. Within his own pondering, Eggman starts to directly target Starline. Starline wasn't ready for the hellfire to come in his direction, and he isn't fast enough to react in time for a portal. But just before he's hit, Tails swoops in again and picks Starline up just in time, Tails, now carrying both Starline and Knuckles, struggles a little bit to stay in the air from exhaustion. "Thank you." Starline speaks to Tails.
"This isn't working. We need a new plan." Tails tells Starline. "Got anything in mind?" Starline examines the Egg Wyrm with a more keen eye. He notices that the upper core implanted in the roof of the skull is emitting an unstable aura.
"He must've prematurely activated the Egg Wyrm before it was done calibrating the core of the planet. If we can damage it before it fully integrates with the mech, we can permanently disable it."
"A good idea, but even with your portals, there's no way we can get close to it before its defenses catch us."
"Maybe there is a way." Starline uttered. "If I overload the energy in my glove, I can power up the warp topaz even further. That way I can form multiple portals at once. But doing so will be dangerous in itself."
"There has to be another approach to this."
"No… I have to do this." Starline lets go of Tails and he drops to the ground. Starline twists a small knob at the palm of his glove, conveying more power throughout the wires leading into the gemstone. The warp topaz flares with lights, beaming the room in its orange glare. Starline recoils in pain as the intense effects of the overloaded warp topaz start to sizzle the skin on his hand. Eggman shields his eyes from the bright glow but soon regains his sight on Starline, who he sees as a vulnerable target. The Egg Wyrm releases missiles from its head and they surround Starline in several different directions.
"Let's see you get out of this one!" Eggman yells. Starline gets up and sees the barrage of missiles headed his way. He extends his hand, activating the warp topaz. Around him, multiple portals form and catch all the missiles. Everyone in the room is in awe of the new power of the gemstone.
"Aww yeah!" Sonic cheers. "Now's your chance, show him how great you are on your own!" Eggman redirects his full attention to Starline, arming all of his weapons to fire at him.
"You pesky traitor. I'll mount your hide on a plaque!" Eggman unleashes the full might of his power. Bullets, missiles, lasers, all of the ordnance he can muster to throw at Starline. However, Starline remains standing in place. With a swipe of his hand, even more gateways appear in front of him, absorbing all the firepower that Eggman had sent out. Starline converges all that absorbed ordnance back at the Egg Wyrm with one giant portal, causing the hull of the mech to be pelted.
"Sonic!" Starline calls to the hedgehog. "Get your red friend ready!"
"I have a name, thank you." Without much further coordination, Starline opens two portals, one below Sonic and one below Knuckles. They both emerge from an exit portal directly above the Egg Wyrm. Sonic curls into a ball and Knuckles dives fist-first down. Eggman looks up and sees them both hurling toward him, but there was nothing he could do now. Sonic and Knuckles collide with the hull of the Egg Wyrm with immense power. The armor cracks and splits vertically along the skull, revealing more of the core to Starline. He had a clear shot to end it all, but a sharp pain lingers through his body. He falls to his knees and looks down at his hands. His body starts to glitch and fade in and out of existence. He could see the power of the warp topaz become more unstable and it was affecting the whole being of his body. It hurt, having half of your body and mind torn from reality for seconds on end. There wasn't much time for him, but he still had work to do. Starline weakly picks himself up and tries one final trick with the gemstone. He knew that prior to overloading the warp topaz, it had a set range to how far he could place a portal. With it powered up, Starline thought of one last bang to finish Eggman. Starline raises both his hands in the air and activates the gemstone.
Outside the station
Looming close by the station, chunks of earth and rock scattered from the remains of Planet Hymn reside close by. Just then, a large portal manifests on the smallest piece of rock and transports it through.
Secret Lab
Back in the lab, Starline's massive portal forms above his head aimed right at the Egg Wyrm. The chunk of rock exits through the portal and crashes onto the mech. The load of earth crumbles on top of the Egg Wyrm, covering it out of sight, with Eggman lost in the rubble. Starline falls back on his knees as the portal closes. His condition gradually getting worse. Team Sonic rushes to his aid, but as they try to pick him back up on his feet, his translucent body falls right through their hands. Sonic keeps trying to help Starline, but his attempts are futile. "Starline! Get up!"
"Is it over?" Starline feebly murmurs.
"You did it, now come back to us."
"I… I don't think I'm making it."
"Quit talking nonsense."
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner, Sonic. Maybe if I did, I wouldn't have made a monster out of myself. A monster to the people."
"There's still time for you. You can still show them that you changed, just hang in there."
"Sonic, promise me… promise me that you'll tell them… that I tried to make things right…" With those words, Starline's body finally disappears in the air, all that was left of him was the glove holding the warp topaz. Sonic tilts his head down, devastated. It wasn't fair for the life Starline lived. A brilliant mind perverted by Eggman. It angered Sonic that this is what it led to, that this doctor's bright intentions were doomed to fail. Tails and Knuckles rest their hands on Sonic's shoulders, trying their best to comfort him.
"I'm sorry Sonic. He did what he had to do to save us." Knuckles laments.
"But it was all in vain!" Abruptly, a claw springs out from the rubble and snatches the warp topaz on the ground. It retracts back and retreats to the rubble. Rumbling occurs as the Egg Wyrm's head, heavily damaged, emerges. The claw places the gemstone into a slot in the cockpit, to which Eggman delightfully observes. "Now that the traitor is dead, I can resume my galactic domination plans with nothing but a few minor annoyances." Eggman eyes Team Sonic. "If it means anything to you, I prefer not to remain a deer in headlights. So this is my final departure from this forsaken place. Rest assured, once I do leave, I'll destroy this station with you all in it. So do come up with some clever last words." Eggman begins to embark by lifting the head of the Egg Wyrm straight up so it can smoothly slide down the long tunnel underneath the lab. But before it left, Tails spotted something peculiar. At the base of the head, the core containing the energy of the chaos emeralds was exposed. Just then, Tails thought of an idea.
"Maybe Starline's sacrifice wasn't in vain. The core holding the chaos emeralds is exposed thanks to him. Sonic, If you can reach there and absorb the energy, you can turn super."
"I thought you said that going super might not be enough." Sonic remarked.
"It's worth a shot."
"Wait." Knuckles interrupts. "Earlier, Eggman said that all chaos energy from our planet was taken." Sonic and Tails were trying to figure out what Knuckles was implying, but they let him continue to elaborate. "If he means that, then that means that you wouldn't just be going super." Then it clicked for Sonic, he knew exactly what Knuckles was talking about. Tails, on the other hand, was still a bit confused.
"Knuckles, what does that mean?"
"I know what it means. I'll get going now, you two try to rally everyone in the city. We need to evacuate if Eggman wants to destroy this place." Sonic jumps down the tunnel and chases after the Egg Wyrm. Sonic starts gaining speed on the mech as it continues its travel to reach outside the station. Sonic catches up to the tail of the Egg Wyrm and climbs on top of it. Meanwhile, in the cockpit, Eggman gets an alert that something had boarded them. Eggman pulls up a display of a camera view of the back of the mech, showing Sonic running down the tail, headed Eggman's way.
"You horrid little hedgehog!" Eggman presses a button. More turrets emerge from openings formed on the tunnel walls. Sonic notices them just in time to avoid their fire. But the whole way through the tunnel is covered in these things, so the journey up to the head of the Egg Wyrm will not be easy. Either way, Sonic must persevere and get to the core. Eggman sees through the camera that Sonic is cruising through everything, which has the doctor very worried. He then thinks of an ingenious idea. He opens up another tab on his display and starts to calibrate the warp topaz to the Egg Wyrm. There was too much distance to cross to reach space, where the blue nuisance couldn't breathe, but if he could simply teleport out there immediately, then Sonic wouldn't know what to expect. A progress bar showing the calibration status pops into view and counts up. Sonic is just a few meters away but runs into an obstacle in the form of the spike of the Wyrm's body. The spikes rise out and lock onto Sonic, trying to pierce him as he continues to run up to the head. Sonic eventually reaches the base of the head and sees the container holding the chaos energy.
"Ok, I'm here. Now how do I get this all out?" Sonic said to himself. He wasn't sure if it was safe to just simply smash the glass, or if there was another way of doing this. In hindsight, should've asked Tails for a little more direction. Back in the cockpit, the progress bar fills and Eggman pushes forward the throttle inside. An orange portal forms ahead of the Egg Wyrm, leading to outer space. Sonic sees the portal and realizes that he has to hurry it up. "Alright, blunt force it is!" Sonic uses his fist to try and smash the glass, but it refuses to shatter. Sonic starts to panic as he tries harder and harder to break the container. He has little time left as they close in on the portal. In one final attempt, Sonic charges up a homing attack and smashes into the glass. Fortunately, it shatters and the energy within flows into Sonic. But they pass through the portal and Sonic loses traction on the floor below him and spirals into space. Eggman turns the Egg Wyrm around to face Sonic, who now floats lifelessly in the vacuum of space.
"Hehehaha! How poetic that the weapon your friend used against me was what did you in." Eggman taunts. He now returns his attention to the space station just below him with devious intent. "Now to finish this." The Egg Wyrm approaches the space station's dome and opens its jaws wide. The teeth clamp on the dome, trying to break it. In the city, people are panicking, trying to hide, or protecting others in their arms; often children. The dome cracks, ready to break.
But before it does, a bright white shine forms behind the Egg Wyrm. Eggman is blinded by the light and turns to face whatever is emitting it. Eggman sees something floating in space, something small, yet defiant. He sees a figure of someone, the silhouette of a hedgehog. Eggman's curious gaze turns to fear as he starts putting together what's going on. Eggman brings his display back up and pulls forward a schematic of the core container. A text pops up in front of the container reading, 'Core Empty' The shine dials back, and shows Sonic flowing with the raw power of chaos. His quills turn white, with a green and yellow overlay fading through briefly. The hue of his eyes turn shamrock, and a powerful aura surrounds him. Eggman was all too familiar with this form, although he had only encountered it once. Sonic… was now in his hyper form.
To be continued…
