After their harrowing battle on Angel Island, the Tornado II took off into the air with its occupants hoping to meet up with the rest of their group.
"Keith," Sonic called. "We got Knuckles and Kat. You guys find Silver?"
"Yeah. We've got him, and Shadow and Chessie too. They said they're gonna help."
"Really? Well, the more the merrier then." Sonic then turned to Tails. "Tails, any more readings on that energy?"
"I think so," Tails replied. "But it's on the move. Sending Keith and the others the coordinates."
"Roger that. See you there!"
The call ended and Sonic turned to Knuckles. The Echidna was chuckling, shaking his head.
"Never a dull moment when you show up."
"And that's just the way I like it," Sonic remarked as the Tornado II sped off.
…
Meanwhile, Eggatha and Metal Sonic were tracking the energy signature themselves to Sand Blast City, now restored to its proper location. They made their way throughout the city, Eggatha looking down from her mini Egg Mobile and sneering.
"What a dump," she commented. "People actually live here?"
"My sensors are indicating life signs, so yes," Metal replied.
"It looks like Trigun meets one of those gross old-west movies. I keep expecting to run into a camera crew or something."
Metal's eyes flashed. "I'm getting a reading on the last Hard Boiled Heavy. This way."
"I hope that this leads to something getting blown up. I want to watch this place burn."
…
Down on the ground, a red Mobian armadillo and a yellow flying squirrel were walking down the street enjoying some ice cream.
"I gotta say, Mighty," the flying squirrel commented. "Out of all the places we've been, Sand Blast City has the best ice cream. Really missed it when it disappeared out of nowhere."
"Been asking about that," Mighty replied. "They said they got sent to a place called Earth through, get this, Chaos Control."
"You're kidding. I thought that was a myth. An old wives tale from long ago."
"Same here, Ray, but it seems not. Heck, from what I've heard, that's what happened to Sonic, Eggman, and a whole lot of other people around here."
Ray whistled. "Talk about weird. Then again, how else do you explain all the weirdness lately."
"Tell me about it. Shifting continents, and more of those 'humans' walking around. I tell ya, our world has gotten a lot stranger."
Just then, Mighty glanced up and saw Eggatha and Metal flying overhead, causing him to narrow his eyes.
"And more dangerous," he added. "Come on."
Ray nodded, jumping up and shoving the remnants of his ice cream in his mouth. He then started gliding through the air as Mighty followed after, both hoping to get ahead of whatever was coming for them.
…
Meanwhile, outside the city, the X-Tornado slowly touched down as the Tornado II followed suit. Keith and the others climbed out of their jet just as the Tornado II landed, allowing Sonic to leap off and run over to them.
"Yo, Silver," Sonic greeted, delivering a fist bump. "Long time, no see."
"Good to see you too, Sonic," Silver replied. "Any leads on what these new robots are all about?"
"Wish I did. Hopefully, we'll find some answers here."
"And you won't be alone in that," Shadow added, walking up to him.
"Nice of you to volunteer to help Shadow. Getting bored filing GUN paperwork?"
"I just knew you wouldn't be able to handle this mess alone. So I thought I'd help bail you out."
Sonic smirked. "I'm sorry, who's gonna bail who out?"
"Okay, enough you two," Chessie spoke, getting between them. "So what do we know about these things?"
"Not much," Tails lamented. "Only that they're built by someone other than Eggman, and have a unique energy signature to them," he quickly pulled out his Miles Electric. "Fortunately, this energy signature has been easy to track. And there's a large cluster of it inside the city."
"Meaning there's a good chance we'll be walking into a bunch of trouble," Kat surmised.
"I like those odds," Knuckles remarked, pounding his fists together.
"Hold it," Silver spoke up. "We can't risk walking into a trap."
"Good point," Keith admitted. "We should get a lay of the land first. Tails, take Silver and Chessie and survey the area. Call in with anything suspicious."
"Can do," Tails replied, spinning his tails and flying off.
Silver and Chessie quickly followed after, the former carrying the latter with his powers as they made their way into the city.
…
While that was going on, Eggatha and Metal made their way to the roof of a building called the Mirage Saloon, where the energy signature was leading them. They touched down, looking for the final Hard Boiled Heavy.
"Alright, so where is that dumb robot?" Eggatha let out.
"Scanning," Metal replied, looking around the roof before turning in one direction. "Located."
Eggatha turned to a shadowy part of the roof, seeing nothing for a few seconds before the figure of the final Hard Boiled Heavy, decked out in a cape and a scepter.
"Greetings," the Heavy spoke.
"Let me guess, you're the final heavy," Eggatha assumed.
"I am the Heavy King. and the one to bring about the Hedgehog's end."
Eggatha and Metal looked at each other, then the former snorted and started laughing. She laughed so hard she fell over.
"I fail to discern the meaning behind your humor," the Heavy King responded.
"Every one of your buddies has failed to ice the Hedgehog and his buddies when they were scattered," Eggatha challenged. "What chance do you have now that they're all together?"
"Simple," the Heavy replied, firing a blast from his scepter hitting a nearby building. Energy coursed through it until it shattered, falling to pieces until nothing but rubble remained. Eggatha let out a whistle.
"Not bad," she commented.
"Adequate," Metal conceded. "Still, hardly enough to best Sonic."
"Just wait and see," the Heavy King commented.
While the three of them were talking, Mighty and Ray were hiding on the other side of the roof, watching the events before them play out.
"Whoa," Ray let out. "That robot means business. And what's with the robot Sonic?"
"Not sure," Mighty replied. "But for now, let's hold back until we learn more. If they're going after Sonic… then they have to be tough. Tougher than we can handle."
…
Meanwhile, Tails, Chessie, and Silver made it into the city. Chessie was able to use her cables to swing from building to building as Tails and Silver flew above.
"This place is incredible," Silver commented.
"You really think so?" Tails wondered. "I mean, it's nice but not somewhere I'd wanna visit often."
"I just mean… the people of this world can settle in a place as remote as this… and thrive. Not just survive, but thrive. Live. it's incredible."
"Considering where you grew up, I imagine it would be," Chessie commented.
"Trust me, you don't know the half of it. The idea of seeing a child playing in the streets was… unthinkable.."
"Well, you've got a lot of new sights to get used to," Tails remarked before getting a beep on his Miles Electric. "I got something! This way!"
Tails took off, Silver and Chessie following close behind. As they continued, Tails caught sight of something on a nearby rooftop.
"There's another one of those robots… with Eggatha and Metal Sonic."
"Those two again?" Silver let out. "I thought Eggman wasn't in control of these robots?"
"And you really think he's gonna take that lying down?" Chessie quipped. "No one kills Sonic but him."
"Touche. Let's find out what they're up to."
Silver then took off, flying right over to the roof. He hovered over it, trying to listen in on what they were planning.
"So how do we want to do this?" Eggatha wondered.
"We lay waste to this city," the Heavy King decided. "The chaos will draw Sonic and his buddies like moths to a flame. If we set up multiple instances of civilians requiring aid, we can split up their forces and whittle them down."
"That's pretty smart," Eggatha commended, nodding slightly.
"Perhaps," Metal conceded. "Though there is one flaw."
"Flaw?" the Heavy King questioned.
Metal's gaze snapped up to the sky, a vicious gleam on his eye screens. He seemed to be staring right at Tails and Silver.
"You said your plan where rats could hear it."
Metal darted upward, plowing right into Silver and carrying him off. Tails quickly opened fire on the Heavy King, who used his scepter to create an energy shield to block the blasts as Chessie pulled herself up onto the roof. Eggatha spotted her and fired lasers from her mini Egg Mobile, prompting her to leap out of the way of them.
"Here kitty, kitty, kitty," the little egg taunted.
"Careful kid. This cat has claws!"
Chessie sent one of her cables snapping at Eggatha's egg mobile. It scratched the front as Eggatha pulled into the air, trying to maintain a safe altitude. All the while, Mighty and Ray watched on in awe of the struggle before them.
"Who are they?" Ray questioned. "I've never seen the white hedgehog or the purple cat before."
"No clue," Mighty responded. "But they seem to be fighting the guys with Egg-Tech, so we help them. You stick with the cat, I'll help the hedgehog."
Ray nodded as Mighty leaped off the roof, working to catch up with Metal and Silver while Ray leaped off himself so he could use the momentum to glide up toward Eggatha.
"What the?!" she let out as he whizzed past her.
"Who are you?" Tails asked as Ray circled around him.
"Ray the Flying Squirrel!" he introduced, giving a two-fingered salute. "At your service!"
Ray then dove back down toward Eggatha, kicking the Egg Mobile with his feet and sending her spinning a bit. The Heavy King looked up at this and fired laser blasts from his scepter, forcing Tails to dodge them quickly.
"Sonic," Tails called over comms. "We found another robot. Eggatha and Metal Sonic are here too."
"What? Are you sure?"
"Positive. We could use some help over here."
…
"Hang tight, little bro. We're on our way." Sonic hung up and turned to the others. "Looks like he found company. Let's get going!"
Everyone took off, with Shadow noting Keith's specially made footwear.
"Are those…"
"Yeah," Keith declared, lifting his hover skates up so Shadow could get a better look. "I modeled them after yours. I can't reach the same speeds as you or Sonic, but it makes travel much easier."
"I can imagine."
"Plus who doesn't love having their own hover skates."
Shadow just gave him a look.
"... what?"
"They're air shoes," Shadow responded before taking off.
"Huh… the ultimate lifeform's a stickler for pedantics."
…
Back with Silver, he struggled in Metal Sonic's grip, trying to free himself so he could engage more directly. Finally, he managed to get a hand free and fired a psionic blast at Metal, knocking him off as he stabilized himself in the air. Metal landed on the ground, skidding hard before looking up at Silver.
"Time for some answers, Metal," Silver demanded. "Who's controlling the robots? What's he planning?"
"I have no directive to explain anything to you. Only to destroy you."
"We'll see about that!"
Silver grabbed some nearby pieces of debris and chucked them at Metal Sonic. The rogue robot easily zipped around the rubble before plowing right through the last piece before grabbing Silver and plowing him into the side of a building. While the fight was going on, Mighty leaped from rooftop to rooftop, spotting Metal Sonic and Silver engaging in their battle.
"It's focused on the hedgehog," he noted, looking around for anything he could use. His eyes fell on a fallen flagpole, one that had a sharp edge to it from where it had ripped. "I wonder… can it still fly if I take out one of its boosters?"
He quickly ran over to the flagpole and picked it up, turning back toward Metal. Taking aim, he chucked the flagpole at the thruster, nailing it and causing Metal to spark before falling toward the ground. Mighty ran forward, leaping up and rolling into a ball, nailing him and causing him to tumble across the sand. Silver shook his head, seeing Mighty and hovering down to him.
"Uh… thanks," he told him.
"No problem. I'm Mighty the Armadillo. You got a name, friend?"
"Silver. Silver the Hedgehog," he replied, landing on the ground.
"Care for a partner in this little dance of death with the killer robot?"
"Always."
He and Mighty turned toward Metal Sonic as he picked himself up, his optics glaring at the sight of the two of them.
"So a smart Knuckles, and a slow Sonic." The robot sneered. "How pathetic."
"You should see me when I'm trying," Mighty boasted.
…
Meanwhile, the others made it into the city, with Sonic taking the lead.
"Alright, let's divide and conquer," Sonic decided. "I'm gonna go after Metal. Amy, go help Tails and Chessie with Eggatha."
"On it," Amy promised.
"Cream," Sonic continued, turning to her. "I want you to get everyone to a safe distance. No one gets left behind, got it?"
"You can count on me, Mr. Sonic!" Cream promised, Cheese chirping in agreement as he saluted.
"Always can."
"What about the rest of us?" Keith asked.
"You guys handle this new robot. We'll be there to join you as soon as we can."
Keith nodded before taking off, with Kat, Knuckles, and Shadow following close behind. Cream and Cheese flew off as Amy took off in one direction, with Sonic going off in another.
…
Cream quickly made her way into the city, seeing several people cowering in fear as she landed on the ground.
"Excuse me," she spoke up. "Could I have everyone's attention please?"
There was no response. Cheese decided to take his turn, chirping at the top of his lungs and getting everyone to look at him.
"Thanks, Cheese," Cream replied. "Now, could everyone please follow me? I promise you'll all be safe."
After a moment, the people got out of their hiding places and followed Cream as she led them away from the carnage.
…
Amy made her way through the city, trying to find any sign of Tails or Chessie. As she rounded the corner, she saw Tails, Ray, and Chessie dodging Eggatha's energy blasts. Having a determined look on her face, Amy charged forward, drawing her hammer and spinning it in her hand. She then swung it down hard on the ground, the momentum launching her into the air as she flipped around. As she came close to Eggatha, she swung her hammer at her, knocking her back as a result. Tails quickly swooped in and grabbed her by the hand to keep her from falling.
"Thanks for the catch," she commended.
"Don't mention it. Now, what do you say we put this kid in her place?"
"Couldn't agree more."
Tails flew toward Eggatha, who quickly swerved out of the way just before Amy could get in another swing, quickly swerving around, Tails set Amy down on a nearby rooftop before darting at Eggatha. He threw several dummy ring bombs, causing her to dive down to avoid them. This allowed Amy to run forward and swing her hammer at the mini Egg Mobile, sending her spinning through the air as Amy looked on, smirking.
…
Meanwhile, Sonic sped through the streets of Sand Blast City, trying to find his metal double. As he turned down a street, he finally caught sight of Metal Sonic duking it out with Mighty and Silver. Smirking, Sonic sprinted forward, rolling into a spin dash and colliding with Metal Sonic, knocking him back. Sonic landed on the ground, turning to his two allies.
"You two good?" Sonic asked.
"We are now," Silver reassured.
"Doing just fine," Mighty replied. "Though gotta say, never thought I'd be meeting you like this, Sonic."
"We can do a meet and greet later," Sonic promised. "Right now, let's kick this guy's can."
Silver and Mighty nodded as Metal rose above them, his optics focusing on Sonic himself.
"I was hoping we would meet again," Metal mused. "Finally done hiding?"
"You were the one hiding, Metal. Not me."
Metal's optics just flashed as he sped toward them.
"This'll be fun," Silver noted.
"Yeah," Mighty agreed. "I say we move and-"
Before he could finish speaking, Sonic charged forward, ready to meet Metal head-on.
"Hey, wait!"
The two rivals charge at each other, their collision creating a massive dust cloud as a result. As the dust settled, the two had their hands locked, with each one trying to overpower the other. Metal Sonic then activated his jet turbine, rocketing him and Sonic forward. Sonic reacted quickly by kicking Metal in the face, disorienting him as Sonic landed on the ground, skidding to a stop. Metal flashed his eyes a bit as if he was glaring at Sonic.
"I wanna say you're getting rusty, Metal," Sonic remarked. "But I don't know if that's offensive to robots or not."
Metal clenched his fist in response. "I will enjoy breaking every last bone in your body, hedgehog!"
"Only if you can catch me."
Sonic then took off down the street, with Metal following close behind. This left Mighty and Silver to watch as the two rivals engaged in their deadly duel.
"Is he always that impulsive?" Mighty asked.
"As far as I've seen," Silver replied before picking Mighty up with his power. "Come on. We'd better keep up with them."
"Right."
The two rushed to catch up to the speedy hedgehogs.
…
Meanwhile, Shadow, Knuckles, Keith, and Kat made their way toward the Heavy King, who was waiting for them in the center of town.
"I was hoping to test my skills against Sonic the Hedgehog," Heavy King remarked. "But I suppose you will do for now."
"Cocky, isn't he?" Knuckles remarked, popping his neck. "Let's see if he can back it up!"
With that, Knuckles charged forward, fists at the ready. Before Knuckles could land a hit, the Heavy King formed an energy shield to block the attack. The impact sent Knuckles skidding back as a result.
"Alright… tougher than he looks."
"Keith, how do we get past that thing?" Shadow asked as Keith readied his goggles.
"Checking…" Keith replied as he continued to scan.
Before he could get far, the energy shield fired out electric bolts, causing the heroes to scatter.
"Any time, Keith!" Kat called out in a mild panic.
"Working on it!" Keith replied, and continued to scan. "It looks like it's based on the same kind of energy we've seen before. This… distorted Chaos Energy."
"Let's see how it feels about the real deal," Shadow declared, skating toward it and leaping into the air. "Chaos Spear!"
The energy bolts collided with the energy dome, creating a massive explosion that stirred up a large sand cloud. As it finally cleared, there was a small crater that the Heavy King was in the middle of, with the surrounding sand having been turned into glass.
"That seemed to do it," Shadow noted. "Now, while he's weakened!"
The four of them quickly rushed to the crater, hoping to take out the new robot. Kat went in first, ramming into the Heavy King and pushing him against the crater wall. He tried firing a blast from his scepter, but she quickly dove out of the way. This allowed Keith to strike him with several energy blasts. The Heavy King then began to deflect them with his scepter before firing another blast. Keith quickly put his hands together before spreading them apart, creating an electric shield that took the brunt of the blast.
"Nice save," Knuckles commended.
"Thanks," Keith replied. "Now get him!"
Knuckles nodded, rushing forward and laying out one punch after another. They managed to knock the Heavy King back bit by bit. The King then raised his scepter and knocked him back. Shadow then ran forward and rolled into a spin dash, colliding with the Heavy King's scepter as the two were locked in a stalemate. Kat took this opportunity to come at him from behind, using her bat to produce a spiked ball. The impact nailed the King in the back of the head, causing him to lurch forward and Shadow to strike him in the face plate. This knocked him backward, forcing Kat to leap out of the way before the robot crashed down, causing her bag to fall to the ground as well. As the Heavy King picked itself up, it turned to see the bag lying on the ground, detecting something inside of it.
"Energy signature… extremely powerful."
The Heavy King reached out a hand, placing it on the bag in an attempt to grab it. As it did though, the Heavy King was suddenly overwhelmed by a mysterious surge of energy. Green and red lightning danced across its body. The four heroes looked on in surprise at the Heavy King's surprising malfunction. Several explosions rang out across the joints of the robot before it finally collapsed to the ground. Keith and Shadow in particular were quite perplexed.
"Uh… what just happened?" Keith asked.
"I… guess he short-circuited," Kat surmised, reclaiming her bag. "Weird."
"Yeah… weird," Keith replied, giving a coy look.
"We can worry about that later," Shadow decided. "Right now, let's meet back up with the others."
The three looked at each other and nodded before heading off, leaving the Heavy King still subtly sparking with energy.
…
Back with the fight with Eggatha, Chessie swung from her cables narrowly avoiding the laser blasts. Meanwhile, Ray and Tails, the latter still carrying Amy, came up from behind.
"This kid is really getting on my nerves," Amy commented.
"Agreed," Tails replied. "We need to take her down."
"I can do it," Ray volunteered. "Just need a boost."
"I can give it to ya," Amy volunteered, holding up her hammer.
Ray glided in front of Amy as she readied herself, swinging the hammer and nailing Ray so he could go sailing forward toward Eggatha. He then flipped around and kicked the Egg Mobile, causing Eggatha to scream in panic as it spun out of control. Chessie took advantage of this and swung around to kick the Egg Mobile from the front, knocking it to the ground. The impact caused Eggatha to go flying off, groaning in pain as the heroes all circled around her.
"Playtimes over," Amy declared, holding her hammer.
…
Meanwhile, Sonic continued his high pursuit against his metal double, who was giving him a cold stare in response. Metal made his first move, veering toward Sonic and trying to swipe at him with his claws. Sonic ducked under the attack before rolling into a spin dash and striking at him. Metal did his best to catch it, skidding to a stop across the ground. Metal then tossed Sonic away, sending him flying toward a nearby building. Sonic quickly landed on it before springing off heading right back at Metal. Metal Sonic jetted forward just as Sonic landed, causing him to turn and see Metal positioning himself for another attack run. Metal suddenly surged with energy, ready to take Sonic out easily. This prompted Sonic to leap upward right before Metal struck, only for Metal to spin around and glare at him. Before he could strike though, a familiar energy pulled him out of the way, much to Metal's surprise. He turned to see Sonic floating alongside Mighty as Silver lowered himself down to their level.
"You two ready?" Silver asked.
"More than," Mighty confirmed.
"Let's do it!" Sonic declared.
They both rolled into balls before Silver launched them forward. One by one, they bounced off Metal, knocking him back and forth in rapid succession. Before he could recover from one blow, another one came right at him and knocked him off course. The hits became more and more frequent, not allowing any space between them. Finally, Silver gave the two one final charge before blasting them forward at Metal Sonic, nailing him right in the face and knocking him to the ground. He bounced across the ground before landing hard on the ground. Silver landed on the ground, setting down Sonic and Mighty as they made their way over to Metal.
"Well, that was fun," Sonic commented.
"That's one way of putting it," Mighty commented, getting a look from Sonic.
As Metal turned his head, he saw Eggatha being surrounded by the others. This caused his programming to kick into overdrive, rocketing over toward them. He plowed through Tails and the others, knocking them all back as a result. Amy tried swinging her hammer at him, but he just grabbed it and tossed her aside before picking up Eggatha.
"Don't follow us," he warned before taking off.
The two groups watched Metal fly off as Shadow and his group caught up.
"They're getting away!" he let out.
"Somehow, I don't think following would be a smart idea," Sonic replied.
"Must be heading back to Starline," Mighty reasoned.
"Starline?" Sonic questioned. "Wait… is he the guy who's been using Eggman's bots?"
"First I've heard that name," Silver chimed in.
"He's been active since you guys disappeared last year," Mighty relayed. "Trying to keep the Doc's mad legacy alive."
"Oh I love him already," Knuckles remarked.
"I think we should compare notes," Tails decided.
…
Back in Robotropolis, Metal called in to report what happened.
"The Heavy King has gone offline," Metal relayed. "Eggatha and I are proceeding to the rendezvous point."
"Understood," Robotnik replied, ending the transmission before turning to Starline. "So much for your Heavies."
"I'm as disappointed as you are, sir," Starline replied. "However, it means we get to try out my new masterpiece."
"I will admit, I am intrigued by that little toy," Robotnik mused while taking a sip of his coffee. "Stone, make this a to-go. And get the shuttle ready."
"Yes sir," Stone replied. "Where are we heading?"
"To a little off-site lab, I have set up…" Starline replied before smiling maliciously. "On Christmas Island."
…
Back in Sand Blast City, the Heavy King continued to spark with energy on the ground, still reacting from whatever it was hit with before. Suddenly, it snapped upward, its optics a mix of red and green energy. He looked down at his hand realizing he had found a new state of consciousness. Upon realizing that, he clenched his fist in determination before flying off into the distance.