When Rouge, Tiara, and I entered the NBA's base, it became clear that they'd been here much longer than we'd thought. We saw a massive, sprawling industrial complex bristling with conveyor belts, elevators, walkways, turrets, and troopers. Gray-blue panels made up many of the paths, while much of the rest of the place used a pale yellow steel with hazard markers posted all over the walls and below the black and orange guard rails. There were all sorts of machines I couldn't even begin to make sense of that were pumping out weapons and what looked to be shells for combat robots, vehicles, mech suits, and more. In the center of the immense underground complex was a towering black and gold structure with a broad base and tall command bridge, and hundreds of gun batteries mounted on its outer surface. As impressive as it already appeared, I had a bad feeling that there was more to it than that.
"That thing's modeled after the old Battle Fortress," Rouge commented on its design, "and it looks like it's getting pretty close to being finished."
Oh yeah, that was definitely bad. I'd gotten familiar with what people had gone through whenever the Empire showed itself due to the recent bestseller that J. P. Cross wrote. The Kukkus had effectively ruled the skies for many years and invaded on occasion, yet they'd lost for the first time when they'd chosen to go after a small island in the Pacific. And how when they set their sights on West Side Island just earlier this year, the same hero that had beaten them back then once again rose to oppose them. Along with the broadcast the Empire put out that went around the world, that's how folks like myself came to know about Miles Power.
Man, I remember being slack-jawed when I saw how fast he could move and how well he could fight despite seemingly impossible odds. It was like something out of one of my favorite childhood action cartoons, except for the parts that got a bit brutal. Not to mention the guts he had to take on something like that giant robot. If only I could harness a bit of that courage for myself, I'd make it through this okay...at least I hoped I would.
"You ready, Barry?" Tiara asked me, looking more than prepared herself.
I gave her a nervous chuckle and nodded, clutching the blaster she gave me with both hands. "About as ready as I'll ever be."
The bandicoot led the way while Rouge watched us from above, where we jumped down from a few meters into a wider area. My legs shook a bit since I wasn't used to landing from that high up, but I didn't have time to adjust before I was forced to find cover from a nearby turret. The bat lady smashed it with one of her strong kicks, only to have to dodge herself when a spider-like, four-legged robot opened fire on her. Tiara closed in while it was distracted and shorted it out with a lightning bolt from her scepter. A couple grunts came into the area from another precipice, looking to get the jump on my friend while her back was turned. I hastily shot at them, and though I only managed to nick one of them in the shoulder, that was enough to get the girls' attention on them, and they were soon dealt with.
A little further down, Tiara and I rode a conveyor belt onto a steep slope with a pair of loops, with me jumping the gap between halves while she was fast enough to follow them the whole way. We nearly ran headlong into a few mines that had been set up in case of intruders, but we managed to stop and let Rouge take care of them with a Heart Bomb. As we crossed into the next section, those of us that couldn't fly were sent into the air by some high-powered floor vents, which worked to our advantage making it up a high hill. Tiara used her scepter to summon a large boulder in front of her, protecting her from a turret that was waiting for us and also using it to dash the thing to bits. No sooner had that been taken care of when a pair of minions popped up from behind a rail and went after her, though it didn't end as well as they'd hoped. Rouge intercepted one of them from above with a dive kick, then delivered a couple more swift back-to-front hits with those heels to the other.
I also noticed that like those guys that chased us in the tunnels, these soldiers also dispersed into that weird mist after taking the bat's attacks. It made me wonder just how big the NBA's collective forces actually were, if there were so many of these fakes. And with that Crown, how many more could their leader make? How many of the people under his command were even real? It was making my head hurt, so I decided not to think about it anymore at the time.
Just past what remained of those guys, we hit a fork where we could climb higher on the left or take a short jump and proceed to the right. My friend took the second choice and we rode the currents of more fans over to a flat area with another of those walker robots. It turned its guns on us once we were spotted, which alerted a small detachment of grunts up a set of tall stairs to the left of it. I did my best to find some cover and provide some suppressive fire, which didn't do a whole lot aside from disrupt their attempts to get at us. It was good enough for the girls anyway, giving Tiara the opening she needed to shock the machine and Rouge to lob another Heart Bomb at the squad. I knew we were approaching the heart of enemy territory, but this was getting to be a bit much for me.
We headed up the northwest steps from there, contending with a couple more of those creepy mechs and turrets along the way. We continued through a transport tube to the southwest, dodging and dealing with hazards until we wound back around to the conveyor belt we'd taken just moments ago. Thankfully, with the initial forces routed, we were able to make it back to that one area atop the steps with little trouble, this time heading through the northeast tube. We found another belt and a switch to affect its course not too far from where we came out, which I let Rouge handle while Tiara and I kept an eye on the path before us. A couple of turrets and mines that didn't affect her aside, she reversed the direction of the line and joined back up with us to take it soon enough.
We first headed southeast, then northeast once again, coming to an area that was different from the rest we'd seen up until then. It looked to be some kind of winding passage with a modest structure at the center, with Tiara not hesitating to rush right into it. In fact, she called upon whatever fire powers that scepter of hers had to just...melt right through the walls and get right to where she needed to go. Thank goodness the metal cooled fast enough for me to hop past the holes; Rouge didn't need to worry about any of those things due to her flight ability. And in little time at all, we made it where we needed to go, discovering a small, but well-equipped lab enclosed within a cubic glass space. And inside of it, seemingly oblivious to everything outside, there was someone that both Tiara and I were rather familiar with.
It was a bandicoot with similar colors and features as my friend, except that he was marginally taller and had a much broader build. Moreover, he had thick eyebrows and a bushy beard, the latter of which went down to his navel. Like Tiara, he had the same sort of fur, skin, hair, and even eyes that she did, though he had a cap that covered most of his hair, and gloves that went at least halfway up his arms. In addition, he also wore a long white coat and a pair of brown trousers and boots, something we tended to see him wear often. And as typical for him, he was preoccupied with his work and didn't notice us, using the tools and instruments provided to him to do...whatever he was doing.
"Dad!" Tiara shouted as she went around to the only visible door into the chamber.
The older marsupial's ears perked up and a toothy smile showed under his beard at the sight of her. "Oh, Tiara! How did you find me?"
"It's a long story, professor," I sighed tiredly as I joined my friend, "are you okay?"
"Peachy, all things considered! Good to see you too, Barry!" He chuckled softly, his belly rolling a little as he did. "Aside from being brought here against my will and not allowed to leave this space except to deal with, ahem, involuntary relief, the proprietor of this facility has actually been rather accommodating."
Tiara and I glanced at each other confusedly. I mean, it didn't seem like he was in bad shape or anything. The way he was acting wasn't any different from how I'd seen him around the settlement, even considering where he was and what happened.
"Uh, well, I'm glad you're alright, Dad," the bandicoot girl said mildly, "but we're here to get you out! We were worried when you didn't come back from your morning trek!"
Gazebo hummed and frowned gently. "I'm sorry to make you fret, princess." He shifted his glance to Rouge and ran a hand through his beard. "Huh, I don't recall seeing you around the sanctuary."
"Because I'm not with you guys," Rouge answered simply with a slight smirk, "but you did send a call to us." She flashed a toothy smile and winked at the professor as she came over and kicked the door down, thankfully without shattering any of the glass. "I'm Rouge the Bat, G.U.N. agent and the world's greatest treasure hunter."
"Oh, so our request was received. Wonderful!" Gazebo picked up what looked like a Ring that was smaller than the usual ones you'd see floating around, then walked around the downed door and out of the room. "And such fortuitous timing you have!" His bushy brows furrowed heavily. "As kind as Al has been, I can tell that he's up to no good, more so since he brought that strange crown back a short while ago. A lot more soldiers suddenly started showing up after that, too."
Well, that pretty much just confirmed what we already knew. I was more of a mind to get out of there, which was going to be a lot harder now that we had the whole of the NBA breathing down our necks. And no offense to the professor, but having him along was going to slow us down unless he had something up his sleeves that could help.
"Dad, that Ring you've got there," Tiara pointed out as if answering my thoughts, "is that what I think it is?"
Gazebo smiled and held it up for us to see. "Why yes it is, princess. Thanks to what I was given here, I've finally forged a working–albeit still prototypical–Warp Ring!"
"Could it get us out of here?" I found myself asking without thinking.
The big bandicoot twined a finger into his beard. "Well, I suppose it could. I haven't had the chance to test its–"
"No time like the present, then!" Tiara declared.
Without warning, she grabbed the Warp Ring right out of her father's hand and closed her eyes while she held it for a few seconds. My friend then threw the object against the nearest wall, and to my astonishment, expanded until it was big enough to comfortably step through. Not only that, but after affixing itself to the surface, a rippling image of the sanctuary appeared in the center, as though we were viewing it from above a pool.
"Well then," Gazebo mumbled as he straightened his coat, "I suppose it's time to go. Are you all coming?"
Tiara shook her head and held up her scepter. "Sorry, Dad, but not yet. I'm gonna help stop these guys and make 'em pay for messing with us and the island." She pointed the jewel in her weapon at me. "Barry, you go on back with him and let everyone else know that trouble might be coming."
The older marsupial nodded his understanding and gave her a brief, but strong hug that she happily returned. She then held out a fist to me, which I timidly bumped back, getting a small laugh from her and Rouge. Ignoring my cheeks burning in embarrassment, I glanced over at Red, who'd been strangely quiet ever since we entered the base, and looked at though he was listening for something. Before I could ask what the matter was, he turned to me with a determined expression.
"Can you hear them, cave guy?" he questioned me with a hint of dread in his soft voice, "weird noises. They don't sound natural."
I blinked and perked up my ears to try and catch whatever he was talking about. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as ambient sounds went. I let the others know what Red was on about, but after a few moments of trying, they didn't seem any more privy to what he was talking about than I was.
"Maybe the stress is just getting to you," I theorized as best I could, "come on, let's get out of here. You'll probably feel better once we're back near Green Grove."
Red didn't seem so sure, but he didn't protest the decision, simply muttering his assent. And with that, we followed the professor as he jumped into the shimmering surface in the center of the enlarged Warp Ring. Instead of hitting the wall like I expected, there was a split second sensation of a pit in my stomach, and then we were suddenly back at the sanctuary!
I had to rub my eyes and pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming; it was all real. I breathed out a sigh of relief, but the feeling didn't last when I saw how Red still appeared rather worried. He got me in the same mood before long, and I hoped that Tiara and the others would make it back okay. At the moment, there was nothing more we could do except inform the others at camp what had happened and then wait for those four to return. Yeah, four; I still believed that Green was a good person despite whatever beef she had with Ace. And I honestly think that if she were to stop and really consider what needed to be done, she'd come around to working with the guy.
"Oh, your comrades have located Professor Boobowski and managed to extract him," Alexei announced to us after we were left to stew in silence and digest his earlier words, "it seems they are competent." He shrugged and smirked, then donned his dark getup once more. "Not that it matters. My constant surveillance of his activities has given me enough intel to reproduce his Warp Ring, given time."
I clicked my beak and shook my head. "You're right that it doesn't matter, because your plan won't succeed however many means you try."
"Of that, you can be sure," Green added.
Alexei simply laughed at our words.
"Hoh, you two certainly are arrogant," he taunted, "and I sincerely doubt such a boast. After all, I can give you, Speedy, the one thing that even Miles Prower and G.U.N. cannot truly promise you; the one thing you have always wanted."
"As if you know what that is!" I spat back, ready to reduce the monitor in front of us to debris.
"The freedom to live your own life however you wish, right?"
I stopped just as my arms were about to build up the power for energy blades, slowly lowering them. Alexei let out another dark chuckle.
"You are hardly the only one with such a desire," he went on smugly, "but I can give you that life. All I require is the other Cursed Corundum, and we can make it a reality." He held out a hand as though trying to offer it to me through the monitor. "I will even give you the Crown so that you can shape it exactly as you wish. Just think abou–"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
In a swift series of motions, Green blasted every single screen and loudspeaker in sight with explosive burst rounds. After the clatter of metal and zap of loose circuitry finally petered out, she all but slammed the pistol back in her holster.
"Just stop talking," she growled softly as she turned back to me.
On one hand, I was thankful that she'd shut him up, even if just for now. But on the other hand, I was still very much on guard, given that she'd been attacking me until a few minutes ago. Were we going to resume trading blows before either of us made an attempt to go in and confront Alexei?
"Suppose what he said was true," she said evenly, her hand still hovering near her weapon, "what then, Ace?"
A valid question, but one that wasn't too difficult for me to answer. I'll admit that Alexei's offer was intriguing, tempting even. But...
"If the Crown of Delusion really can augment reality," I reasoned, "then even if he can give me what I want, I wouldn't truly be free so long as he has access to it. There's no guarantee that he wouldn't just take it away."
Some time passed where neither of us moved, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. Eventually, Green moved her hand away from the gun, fixed me with what had to be a hard glare through her visor, and reached into one of her pockets as she hopped off her platform. She pulled out what appeared to be a couple of small pill capsules filled with some glimmering white substance, then tossed one over to me. For a brief moment, the jaw guard on her helmet flipped open, revealing a smooth peach-toned muzzle with a medium black nose and a shape to it that I couldn't quite identify. She popped the object into her mouth and swallowed it, motioning for me to do the same.
I hesitated, but soon did as she had, and the effects were almost immediate. My aches and pains faded away while my wounds mended, all while I felt a surge of Chaos Energy coursing through my body. Not only that, but the fatigue that had been setting in over the long day had also vanished, leaving me feeling both mended and refreshed. I knew G.U.N. had been able to condense Chaos Energy into things like Drives, but nothing so miniature or like this in function. It made me wonder yet again just where she got it all from.
"Don't make me regret my choice," she warned me with a threatening edge, "I promise that you won't get another chance if you do."
"Duly noted," I mumbled just loud enough for her to hear.
In light of what Alexei had revealed to us, I decided to try and get in contact with Rouge. A few seconds later after fiddling with my comm, I was greeted with the sound of her voice.
"Hey there, Ace," she said a little too casually for my taste, not to mention the situation, "if I'm hearing from you, that must mean you cleaned up with our other lady friend."
I shook my head, not that she could see. "Not exactly, but it's clear she's not with the enemy. Now that we're no longer at each other's throats, I'm going to make my way over to you."
"Okay." I heard her hum in thought as she did whatever she was up to on the other end of the line. "There's a path that leads up to a dock here for the new big weapon they're building. You can't miss it."
It sounded like an easy enough place to find. "Then let's meet up there. How about the others?"
"We found Tiara's dad and got him out safely. That kid, Barry, and his little Flicky friend went with him through that Warp Ring he'd been working on."
Which meant that Alexei hadn't just been saying that to get my hopes up. And with the more "helpless" civilians out of immediate harm's way, that meant that Rouge and I were more free to cut loose. Just as well, too, as I didn't want to have to worry about them when contending with the likes of the Hooligans. For all we knew, they hadn't been directed to keep us alive like the grunts had.
"Alright, see you soon," I replied before terminating contact.
After that was done, Green leapt back onto her ride and brought out her weapon to adjust it. "Then I'll be heading in. Before I go, though." She tossed two more of those capsules my way. "For your allies; use them sparingly, as they're far from easy to produce. Anyway, you three focus on what needs to be done while I take care of the rest." She double-checked her current ammo, then flashed me a two-finger salute. "Jaa ne."
Without waiting for a response, she was off. I ran inside a few seconds later and immediately saw what Rouge had been talking about. To think that Alexei went so far as to recreate the Battle Fortress almost down to the very last detail and gave it his own colors. From the current state of its construction, it looked to be nearly complete, too.
And with that in mind, the purpose of the order sent out to capture the people at the sanctuary became clear. He may have had the ability to replicate numbers using the Crown, but Alexei still needed flesh and blood soldiers for other operations. And in the event there were those that weren't willing to join, which would likely be most people, he had to have some means of coercing them...or brainwashing them. Much as it made me sick to think about, I really did have to consider that he'd somehow revived the Conversion Therapy process.
Tch, leave it to someone from that crazy old owl's extended family to do something like that. I knew what my options were, and I was no fool; what Alexei was offering me was nothing more than a sugary lie. A part of me wanted to kick myself for even considering his deal, but the better bit got me to consider reserving that for the NBA's leader himself. Of course, there'd be a lot more than that coming his way, provided I was given time to vent all my frustrations.
I took to the air and immediately headed for what appeared to be the most direct route up onto the vessel, seeing as Tiara would need to navigate it. I'd barely gotten off the ground, however, when about a dozen missiles came screaming toward me from the opposite direction. Wheeling around, I spotted Fang sitting in that vehicle of his, which had been decked out with quite a few new toys. A couple of cannons, missile launchers, what looked like beam projectors, and a rather nasty drill that was mounted on the front. Alexei must have given him all those weapons as compensation for finding the Crown for him.
"'Ello, birdie," he greeted me with the tip of his hat and his revolver pointed my way, "I've been wanting ta settle the score with ya." His grin gave way to a toothy frown. "After all, I got a reputation to keep up, and I'm not about ta let ya get away with makin' a fool o' me!"
So, he was still miffed about how I trounced him during our first encounter. That was rather amusing.
"You've only yourself to blame for that," I remarked with a "helpless" shrug, "who knew the infamous Fang the Hunter was such a sore loser?"
The jerboa stood up in his seat and slammed the console. "I'll show you a sore loser, ya has-been prince!"
"Better to be a has-been than a never-will-be," I countered with a smirk, "as in, you never will be better than me."
I could hear his teeth chattering and see him trembling with barely restrained fury. "That's it." And then he no longer held it in, his eyes brimming with rage. "I'm gonna kill ya so completely that there'll be nothing left of ya!"
The fool had fallen right into my trap, for an angry opponent is one that can't think entirely straight. It didn't matter how many weapons he had or how powerful they were if he couldn't keep a cool head. One would think such a notable bounty hunter wouldn't allow himself to be so predictable.
In any event, Fang started our rematch by firing twin beams from the sides of his craft, which I was able to easily dodge by pivoting up and off to one side. They struck a construction crane not too far away, slicing through its steel supports like hot knives through butter; getting hit by those, even with my armor, would've meant instant death or dismemberment. But it seemed he couldn't use more than that at a time, and so I took the chance to zero in on the cockpit and deliver a Diving Spin Attack. Instead of making impact, I was deflected by a honeycomb-like energy barrier, although my attack did chip one of the hexagons away. With that in mind, I threw a few Shocking Blasts and energy blades to thin the shielding until I had a big enough opening, which I used to slam into the windshield of Fang's hoverbike.
The shock made him stagger for a moment, and the rest of the barrier dissipated almost immediately after. This gave me a chance to put some distance between us and head for the rendezvous point Rouge had established. I was cut off by two more figures, one flying in on an Extreme Gear board while the other was doing so naturally. It was none other than the remaining two Hooligans. Bark was just as stolid as ever as he stared me down, while Bean was sporting a broad smile even though he was probably less than happy to see me. It was going to be a fight against all three of them; as confident as I was in my own might, I knew it would be easier if I could somehow lead them to the girls.
"Hey, Speedy," the woodpecker said as he poofed a short-fused bomb into existence, "here for the big shiny we just handed off?"
"No, I was just dropping in to see how you were doing," I answered sarcastically, "of course I am, you clown!"
He let out a dark giggle as a glint showed in his eyes. "Can't let you do that, cuz. Besides, I still owe you some payback for letting your friend take my treasure!"
My cousin threw his explosive at me, though I was much too quick for him, diving straight down to avoid the blast. Bark shot down after me on his board and attempted to grapple me, only narrowly missing because I decided to suddenly stop and let him slip past me. I Dashed off away from both of them, only to find Fang once more on my tail taking potshots at me, his vehicle somehow managing to keep up. Too bad for him that I had more than enough open space to make him miss every time, while he was a much bigger target for my projectiles. The hunter once again brought up that shield and staved off my attacks, but that also had the effect of significantly slowing him down due to diverting power from the thrusters.
On the other hand, Bean and Bark weren't so burdened, and even at the speed I was going, they were able to match my pace. The polar bear pushed his EG to go faster and overtake me, whipping around once and throwing a punch once he was a few handfuls of meters in front. I put on the brakes, metaphorically speaking, and flipped myself over so that I used his arm as a springboard, once again shooting past him. My cousin intercepted me by throwing a bomb ahead of where I intended to go, and unfortunately, I reacted too slowly to completely dodge the blast. Bark caught one of my legs as I flew back his way, then hurtled me into Fang's path as he grinned and pressed another button on the control panel. The vehicle dropped its barrier and started up its drill, the ear splitting whirring filling the air as he rushed at me at what must've been full throttle.
For a second there, I honestly thought I'd be skewered and pureed by that thing, but it seemed that the jerboa wasn't meant to have the last laugh.
"Screw Kick!"
Rouge came crashing down on top of Fang with her signature move, slamming his head into his hoverbike's console. This caused him to wildly swerve out of my way, saving me from what would've been a rather gruesome fate. Bean and Bark both dove out of the path of the runaway craft, then shifted their attention back to the both of us.
"I saw you boys rough housing up here, and it looked like you could use a hand," she commented with a cheeky smirk.
I rolled my head from side to side and noisily worked out the kinks in my fingers. "Yes, well, thanks for the save."
"Wow, you actually thanked me without any snide remarks attached," the bat teased with exaggerated shock.
"Don't get used to it." I glanced over at Fang, who'd regained control of his ride. "We have bigger things to worry about anyway."
The Hooligans all grouped up before us, with Bean and Bark flanking Fang on the left and right, respectively. Upon seeing my partner, the latter's face twisted into a scowl.
"Guess my eyes weren't playing tricks on me then," he said while speed-loading his revolver, "the stealin' sheila's playin' around wit' G.U.N. now, eh? Ya get caught and forced to do community service, Rouge?"
Rouge shrugged in response. "Not really. I wanted a bit more excitement, and the life of an agent's been pretty exciting, Fangy." She laughed softly at the way his glare intensified. "Oh I still go after some lovely things here and there. It's just a lot less of a headache when the brass is sometimes willing to look the other way, or allow me to take things as compensation instead of boring old Rings."
"Shame," the jerboa replied, giving his two comrades a look, "we were hopin' you'd wanna join, but I'd never let some bitch of those busybodies into my crew."
"Yeah!" Bean cheered, summoning a few bombs to juggle, "I remember when we worked together and pulled off a few heists, Rougey-kins!" The bat's expression changed to a disgusted one upon the way he said her name, and I didn't blame her. My cousin, by contrast, swiftly shifted to anger. "But then you ditched me after you learned how to make things go boom on your own and took almost all my shinies! And then after seeing you for the first time in years, you helped that trampicoot steal my newest shiny!"
Only a couple of seconds after shouting that, Bean was struck in the back by a lightning bolt from below, shocking him and making him sputter as he convulsed. He spun around and gritted his beak as he saw the woman of his ire several meters down on the ground, her scepter pointed up at him.
"You want it so badly? Then come and get it!" she dared him.
And like a moth to a flame, off went my cousin to go and claim what was "rightfully" his. That left us to deal with the leader and the brawn of the trio, which suited me just fine. The former desired to settle things with me, so why not give him what he wanted?
As the Hooligans and Speedy's team divided themselves to take each other on, Alexei watched from the comfort of the bridge of the new flying fortress. On one hand, he was disappointed that Gunner Green hadn't let him finish proposing his offer to the former prince. It would be even more of a letdown if those bounty hunters did him in before he got the chance to give him a proper answer. But on the other hand, if those three managed to come out on top against Fang and his crew, they would get another opportunity to speak. He could have paid the latter gang additional Rings as compensation and changed their mission to be a non-lethal one, but that wouldn't do. From what he'd seen and studied, Speedy was far too formidable for anyone to be fighting him at less than their best, and even then, that wouldn't be enough in the majority of cases.
But then, there were those like Miles Prower that had managed to beat the fallen Empire's best ace. The owl remembered watching and listening to the reports of the two-tailed fox's feud with the Kukkus. How he and his band of friends had defeated them not once, not twice, but three times, and that the third clash had been the one to seal the Empire's fate. One would think that the avian would seek vengeance against the hero for what he'd done, just as his predecessors did.
And yet, despite the death of his grand-uncle and the Battle Kukku XV, Alexei did not begrudge the vulpine. After all, he'd been the one that was attacked in the first place; he'd only been defending himself and the people he cared about. The Empire had proven to become more dangerous after that, so neither did Alexei blame Miles for taking the fight to them when they re-emerged. In reality, the true culprit and the real target that deserved any of his ire was here in his base. If it hadn't been for Speedy becoming a turncoat at a critical moment, Prower might not have been able to win. The Empire might have still been around, and he would've replaced his grand-uncle as their chief engineer.
But that was the past, and there was too much to look forward to for him to get stuck in it. Alexei turned his attention away from the struggle and eyed the object set on a pedestal in the center of the command room. There was a golden crown with a broad base inlaid with several spinels of various colors and four supports that curled around a velvet purple dome and met at the top. And it was there that a magenta icosahedron gemstone with black ripples rested, securely slotted in the center of the peak of the artifact. While he'd only recently obtained it, and though it was draining to use, Alexei had already seen the power that it held and made swift use of it to exponentially multiply his forces. Not only that, but by harnessing its energies, he was swiftly making progress on creating what he believed would be the "perfected" form of Conversion Therapy.
Of course, that was assuming that everything from here on out went without a hitch. Alexei wasn't a fool like his grand-uncle had been; he acknowledged that there was a probability, however small, that he could still lose even with all the preparations he'd made and how far he'd gotten. That being said, he still hoped that things would work out and that he'd reach the best-case scenario with Speedy accepting his terms. If not, then he had no qualms about forcing the ace to join his cause, or even killing him with his own hands if it came down to it. As for the two women, they would be of better use to him alive, especially since one of them could use that scepter with such proficiency.
Since he had Tiara on his mind at that moment, the owl returned to focusing on the fight between her and Bean. The woodpecker had always seemed rather cheerful, even during his darker moments, but not so here. Behind that almost perpetual smile, Alexei could see the malice in the other avian's features, and the anger from being denied the "shiny" that the bandicoot was wielding. Such strong emotions fueled his powers to make his explosives even bigger and more numerous, which would've helped him against most other foes.
Unfortunately for him, his rage wasn't serving him well at all against someone that could snuff out his payload before they could blow up with the wave of an arm. Time after time, no matter how many he made, Bean's bombs were frozen in ice by Tiara's weapon. Despite that setback, however, he was still very swift, and with his natural ability to fly, he had the advantage as far as maneuverability. At first, this resulted in the two Animals being unable to effectively harm each other, for while one could disable attacks, the other could simply dodge out of the way of retaliation. With the way the battle was going, it appeared that the two were going to be in a stalemate for quite some time.
Or, perhaps it would have, if the bandicoot hadn't been as shrewd and observant as she really was.
"You know what? Fine!" Tiara's frustrated voice came over the speakers as she threw down the scepter, "take your damn shiny, you crazy bird!"
The woodpecker stopped his charge and gazed down at the artifact with a longing gaze in his eyes. "Ooh, yay! You should've just handed it over in the first place, silly lady!"
Bean skipped over and bent down to pick up his prize, but he realized too late that it had been a set-up. Tiara came crashing into him with a Spin Dash and sent him sprawling, sweeping the scepter back into her grasp and launching a lightning bolt at the bird. He let out a warbling cry as he was shocked, falling to his knees after a few seconds with smoke rising off of his body. She made another attempt to strike, but he sprang into the air and glared down at her with newfound fury.
"Ooh, that was a dirty trick!" he snarled, summoning more than a handful of explosives and juggling them with his limbs, both hands and feet, "you're gonna pay for that, trampicoot! Boom Cyclone!"
Bean spun around so fast, he was like a green tornado, flicking numerous bombs every which way. Tiara was able to take care of the ones directly headed for her, but there were so many that splashed around her that she was thrown off balance after a few moments. Or at least, that's how it appeared at first, but the woodpecker was in for a nasty surprise once he dove down to try and snatch the scepter. At the last possible moment, the marsupial erected an earthen wall between her and the dive bomber, causing him to smack right into it. Alexei shook his head at the display, deciding that even though Bean wasn't yet down for the count, he'd seen enough of that fight for the moment.
He next examined the conflict between Rouge and Bark, with each of them having their own quirks that had made it a difficult fight for either side thus far. The polar bear was physically superior, both in strength and endurance, but he relied on Extreme Gear to fight the bat in the air, who was much more agile and had no such handicap. The agent made like she was going in for a diving kick, only to come to a halt a couple of meters outside the ursine's reach. She threw a Heart Bomb into his face, but at the last moment, Bark brought up both of his arms to defend his burly body, and despite the force of the explosion, he seemed to barely be affected by it once the smoke cleared. It had been a ruse, however, one that allowed his opponent to get in close and kick him in the face with both boots. He nearly fell off of the board, but regained his footing before that could happen and swung a huge fist using the momentum he gained.
Rouge flipped over his arm and brought one heel down in an axe kick, only for Bark to grab her leg and stop her foot mere centimeters from his face. Still clutching her boot, the bear dove down towards the ground on his EG, lifting her high above his head with the intent to smash her into it. But, Speedy came in faster than a bullet and rammed into Bark's left side with an Aerial Spin Dash, causing him to grunt in pain and release Rouge. Fang came in a second later, chasing after the ace with cutting beams and missiles, only to miss and get taunted by a rude gesture from the fast flier.
"Guess we're even now," the bat said cheekily.
"For the moment," the bird replied, swerving out of the way of more projectiles, "just stay focused!"
Rouge nodded and rocketed towards Bark as quickly as she could, one arm moving behind her back. The buff Animal folded his arms in front of him once more, expecting the smaller one to toss another Heart Bomb. It turned out to be a feint, with the bat diving beneath his board at the last second and coming back up with a rising Screw Kick. It wasn't enough to directly throw Bark off of his Gear, but it did tip the device over enough that he couldn't keep his footing. He reflexively grabbed onto the upside edge, hugging himself against the board while he charged at Rouge. Although it was easy enough for her to dodge, it gave her opponent enough time to straighten out his ride again and stand back up.
"Oi! I know ya can throw your weight around more than that, Bark!" Fang called to him from afar, "don't tell me you're goin' easy on her! Have ya forgotten we got a job to do and that a whole quarter of our pay rides on finishing it!?"
Alexei saw a look of discomfort momentarily flash across the big guy's face, which was swiftly shrugged off by a shake of the head. He zoomed forward and threw a heavy punch in Rouge's way, only for her to easily avoid it and giggle playfully. She countered with a three-kick combo, though he was able to block each of them without her budging his arms. From what the owl could determine on-screen, the jerboa was right about his associate pulling his punches. It was safe to assume that the outcome to the confrontation was already decided.
"Don't be jealous that he's the only one of you I didn't collect 'insurance' from," she taunted the hunter, "sometimes it pays to be nice. I can't say it would've worked out if I did the same for you or that crazy woodpecker, though."
Fang gritted his teeth and retrained his weapons on the bat, eager to blow her out of the air. But before he could lift a finger to press any buttons, an extra large energy blade sliced right through one of his multi-missile launchers. What canisters didn't explode outright from the attack were hewn from the hoverbike, making it tip to one side from the now uneven weight of its remaining salvos. Behind him, he saw Speedy with both arms outstretched and parallel to each other.
"The level of infamy you've accrued really doesn't suit you, Fang the Hunter," he said mockingly, "letting her words get under your skin, taking your eyes off your real opponent and getting distracted by others' battles...you're pathetic."
"Stop looking down on me!" The marsupial let loose every bullet in his gun's chamber in rapid succession, all of which Speedy dodged with little effort. "You're nothin' but the brat of a dead tyrant!" He reloaded the cylinder and pumped out another half-dozen shots in the blink of an eye, but he was still too slow to hit the Kukku. "Arrogant arse that claimed himself the emperor of the skies, saying he'd conquer the whole world, then he went and got himself killed by some freak of a fox and his stupid band of 'heroes'! Your father was weak and got what was coming to him!"
In the next instant, Fang didn't even get a chance to move when he suddenly found Speedy slamming onto the hood of his hoverbike. His head didn't get a single fraction of a second to bob as the ace leaned over the windshield and started squeezing on his neck with both hands. Those red eyes of his that seemed set in a nearly perpetual scowl had narrowed even further, making him appear even more dangerous and frightening than the jerboa had previously seen. And as much as Fang tried to struggle, he was quickly losing air, and soon enough, he didn't even have the strength to hold onto his favorite six-shooter.
"My father was many things," he said just loud enough for the bounty hunter to hear, "very few of which were flattering in any capacity. Indeed, he was a tyrant...a particularly cruel and ambitious one at that. And maybe he did deserve the fate that befell him." His gloves audibly strained as he put even more pressure on the other Animal's windpipe. "But one thing he certainly was not was weak! It is almost solely because of him that I am as strong, fast, and sharp as I am today!"
Alexei stood up from his seat as Speedy yanked his foe right out of the cockpit and flung him into the air. Without missing a beat, he thrust both hands through the console and discharged a pair of high-powered Shocking Blasts. The craft shorted out from the massive electrical surge, tumbling down to the ground and crashing in a heap, its recent attachments all falling away from the main body. And just as the jerboa was coming down again, the former royal grabbed him by the collar and pressed his beak right up against the other's nose.
"One more thing," Speedy continued, "I will not abide a cowardly rat like you disrespecting my rival!"
The owl watched on with interest as Speedy forced Fang into a Rolling position, then punted him into the distance. The sound barrier broke with a bang as he rocketed in front of the jerboa to intercept him, knocking him further up into the air with a well-aimed bounce with both hands. Finally, he brought both of them above his head as he flew into position far ahead of his enemy, neon blue bolts building up around them.
"Take this!" Speedy yelled out, bringing down the figurative hammer, "Lightning Spike!"
The crackle of thunder rang throughout the facility upon impact, smoke trailing from Fang's body as it hurtled back down towards the ground. Bark disengaged from his fight with Rouge and caught the jerboa, absorbing most of the momentum; a slight zoom showed the smaller Animal to be unconscious, but alive. The polar bear looked down to see Bean continuing to struggle against Tiara, his bombs all but useless against the ice spells she slinged from her scepter. After a moment of consideration about the situation, the biggest of the Hooligans rode his Gear down to try and get in the way, but he was already too late. Bean was outmaneuvered yet again, and with one more wave of her weapon, Tiara knocked him out with a large stone to the back of his head.
Bark swooped in just before the bird hit the floor, then flew them to where Fang's hoverbike had crashed and set both of his comrades down while he restarted it. Once it was ready, he fetched some rope from a compartment under the seat cushion and secured the other two to his Gear, which he then attached to the rear of the vehicle.
"So that's your decision," Alexei said to him over his personal comm unit, "knowing when to retreat is also a victory, one over giving in to foolish recklessness. I won't stop you, Bark, but do let your partners know that you'll not be receiving the final 25% of the Rings agreed upon in our contract. You failed to fulfill your end of it, after all."
Bark casted one last glance up at Speedy and the ladies, then let out a quiet grunt as he sped away using the damaged but still functional hoverbike. Alexei sighed and turned away from the monitors, walking towards the Crown of Delusion with purpose in his stride.
'Perhaps the Hooligans weren't enough,' he thought as his beak curled into a devious smile, 'but I have an idea of what might be most effective...'
The battle against the Hooligans had gone better than I had anticipated, though I figured that was in no small part thanks to the capsule Green had given me earlier. With that in mind, I handed out the spares she'd supplied me to each of them once we were all back on the ground. Understandably, they were reluctant to consume something like that, but after hearing that the gunner had taken one herself to assuage my doubts, they soon swallowed the pills. Strangely, while my partner was soon acting like she'd gotten a good night's rest, the bandicoot still seemed a little out of it, her breathing heavier than it should have been.
"Did it not work?" Rouge inquired with slight unease.
Tiara shook her head and held her scepter a bit more firmly in both hands. "No, it did something. I'm not sore or aching anymore, but I still feel kinda tired...dunno why."
"Don't overexert yourself if you don't feel like you can keep up," I told her in a stern voice.
"Nah, it's okay." She waved me off and shifted her attention to the bridge of the New Battle Fortress. "Besides, I still owe that Al guy an ass-kicking."
True enough, and far be it from me to stop her if she was willing to keep going. We traveled up the ramp that connected to the deck of the colossal flying ship, ready to head towards the base of the bridge and make our way to the top. But once we were about a dozen meters away, the very Animal that we had been meaning to confront stepped outside. While that made things more convenient for us, that was offset by the fact that he was now wearing the Crown on his armored head.
"You all made it, as was potentially expected," he said with open arms, "well done. I did promise you more information if you managed this, so let us talk."
Tiara wasn't in the mood to listen, as without warning, she curled up and shot towards him in a Spin Dash. However, her attack never connected, for she was knocked back at us by a figure that had rushed out from the base of the bridge. I had to blink and rub my eyes in disbelief at what I was seeing. It was unthinkable for him to be here...he was dead! But, right in front of us was what appeared to be none other than my deceased father, traces of red-purple mist lingering around him.
"Hello, my son," came his cordial voice, one that belied his true, vicious nature, "I've missed you."