khan and the Dragon Kingdom

by Biomarvel740

Many years after the Robotnik war, young Monkey Khan, a less than ordinary child adopted into the D'coolette family, is confronted with his true heritage and must come to reclaim the throne to the dragon kingdom from his wicked uncle: King Gong(Not an OC, I couldn't find his name in the characters category), a gorilla bent on his destruction.

12. Chapter 12

The following Characters are owned by Ken Penders(King Gong, Dark Legion, Lien-Da(referenced), King Maximillian, Elias Acorn(referenced), the Bride of Rich Nights, the Bride of Endless Reach, Julie-Su, and Fiona Fox)) Ian Flynn(Shinobi Clan), Michael Gallagher(Barby Koala), Karl Bollers(Jack Rabbit(mentioned only)) JayFoxFire(Emerald the Bat), and Frank Storm(Monkey Khan, Lau Khan, Li Yuen). Also I think the four clans are owned by all of these people one way or another. If I'm wrong on any of them, please correct me. Also, I can't recall if either Ken Penders or Ian Flynn owns Shard so please feel free to inform me of that as well. Also, for the sake of fair warning, Fiona is still a freedom fighter in this continuity, and the thing between her and Scourge never happened. So keep that in mind when reading. ;

WARNING: Some offensive opinions will be displaced in the beginning of this chapter. Please know that this is a reflection of this universe's King Maximilian, and not at all standpoints that I share.

---

Chapter 12: Battle for the World

It would be early morning in the city of Acorn, Capital City of Mobotropolis. A bit too early for the King's liking as he grumbled down the stairs. All just to get his weak and fragile wife a glass of water. When he argued that she was being rude for waking him up and that she should go get it herself, she resorted to warning him that it wasn't nice to speak that way to a lady. He would've in turn argued that it wasn't lady like to be a bitch if he weren't too tired to do so. Heck, he might have even slapped her if he were a little younger. 'Definitely shut her up back then.' Maximillian thought.

But as it happened, the King of Mobotropolis had been cursed with the degrading of his muscles while Alicia only continued to improve. Bound to a wheelchair and gaining weight while his wife grew stronger. It was despicable where the senile Squirrel was concerned. Nothing short of an injustice. After all he had done for this country, and all that he had suffered, it only made sense that he should be the more physically imposing of the two. That he should be the most revered and respected. What exactly had Alicia done aside from birth him two children, both of whom were completely useless where he was concerned, and not say anything when she thought Julian was untrustworthy. Maximillian rolled his eyes. 'Nothing useful at the very least.' He thought.

Maximillian rolled his way down a ramp of blue carpet leading into a massive kitchen, complete with an island/stove, multiple cooking stations, a dishwashing room, a pantry, and a walk-in freezer that would be occupied by master chefs of royal or aristocratical renown in likely an hour to prepare breakfast. 'An hour I'll never get back.' Maximillian thought. All because, while knowing the fact that it took her husband about a minute to get out of his bed and into the chair, she needed a glass of water. The king had half a mind to chuck the glass into her face once he had gotten back to their bedroom, but for now decided that he would settle for giving her tap water from the sink. Any other complaints, and Maximillian would tell her to piss off. Not like he could break the glass over her face anyway. Not with Sally having been enough of an icon to the flawed ideals and mindsets of gender equality that the king was practically pressured into legalizing it.

The king sneered at the glass of water as he continued to think of the bitch that he had once considered his daughter. One second, she had been small and perfectly obedient to the Acorns and their way of life, only to come back into a world where she dared give herself value the next. No thanks to his wife and the people Sally had "inspired" with her nonsense of freedom and equality for all, he could neither punish nor touch her for the sickening betrayal. To make matters worse, she refused to marry into royalty or at the very least into a rich family. Something he had dearly hoped for after Elias had run from his responsibilities like a coward and married a promiscuous peasant woman with a child. Instead, she had married into the family of the so called "hero of Mobius". A childhood friend of hers who was not only a peasant, but also scoffed at his authority and traditions. Far as Maximillian was concerned, the blue peasant filth had likely manipulated Sally against him. In either case, Sally chose him, and would soon after breed a pair of bastard children with him.

That wasn't even to mention the fact that she had sent her two "friends" out to search for their son in a foreign country. One of which, as far as Maximilian was concerned, the boy had no business traveling to. If he was in their place, he would have left the boy to his own devices. The monkey, a foreigner in his own right, made the decision to leave this great nation for one of inferior traditions and values. Where he was concerned, Ken would only deserve whatever came to him. He shuddered for a moment thinking about himself as a peasant, but eventually regained his composure.

Maximillian nearly crushed the glass in his hand just thinking about how both of his children had betrayed him. How they continued to betray him after he had offered them a necessary ultimatum: to either leave their peasant families and come back to give the king a proper heir or to no longer be considered members of the family. Not only had they the audacity to refuse his generous offer, but his wife stood beside them! Ungrateful.' He thought. How could they all be so entitled?! So defensive in the face of necessary change?! Did they truly not value tradition?! Did they only see it as a means to end? Something to be mindlessly discarded because they fought to free their nation from the overlander traitor?! Maximillian scoffed. 'Big deal. The only reason any of them fought in the first place is because that's what they were supposed to do. So what if many peasants died? They knew what they were getting themselves into. I won't pity them over willingly abandoning their families to further ruin.'

Maximillian nearly dropped the oh so important glass of water as the front door swung open to reveal none other than the spiky blue peasant himself, bearing an urgent expression that the king already derived immense pleasure from witnessing.

"Yo, Kingy!" Sonic exclaimed. "We've got ourselves a situation!"

"Either retreat back to the filthy slumps where you belong or be out with it." Maximillian responded, already lacking patience for the imbecile. He still considered himself embarrassed that the hedgehog played a part in saving his nation.

For a moment, Sonic would bear a flat expression. "Nice to see you too."

"I SAID-!"

"Alright, alright, cool your jets." Sonic remarked, waving his white gloved hands slightly in front of him. "I just came to tell you that I spotted some guys on the outskirts during my morning run. A lot of them. None of them friendly."

Maximillian groaned. Again the rodent had proven himself to be more useful than his Royal Guard. People who were supposed to be watching over the border for crap like this. He made a mental note to either demote them, or imprisoned them, depending on the reason for their lack of oversight.

"Is Gong with them?"

Sonic shook his head. "No dice. But that army's not getting any smaller out there so he's definitely our best bet!"

Maximillian would sigh in irritation and roll his wheelchair in the direction of the open door. 'So much for getting a little more sleep.' Maximillian thought. 'As if my day wasn't dysfunctional enough as it is. First my wife wakes me up over something that definitely could've waited. Then, that disgraceful hedgehog intrudes after I told Sally that I wanted nothing to do with the either of them after the birth of their little abominations to nature. And NOW THE FILTHY FOREIGNER GORILLA IS INVADING MY TERRITORY WITHOUT THE DECENCY TO ALLOW ME TO PREPARE OR GET A LITTLE MORE SLEEP?! FILTHY SAVAGE!'

Noticing the continuously reddening face of the wheelchair bound Squirrel, Sonic would smirk and ask: "Yo, Kingy, do you need me to call an ambulance for ya, or can we get going already?!"

Maximillian would stop next to the blue hedgehog, glaring viciously up at him as he replied: "We?"

"It's my kingdom too, ain't it?"

"Regardless, I do not recall giving you permission to fight another battle for me."

"And I don't recall asking for your permission." Sonic replied. "I don't care if you don't like me stealin your thunder out from under your crack, I fought just as hard as anyone else did takin down one maniac. I'm not about to lose it to another."

Sonic, of course, was more than a little aware of Maximillian's hostility towards him. The old grump didn't seem to like him from the very day he met him. It only got worse after he proposed to Sally. Though to be fair, he did ask for her father's blessing, knowing how special of a gesture it would be to her even knowing Maximillian's answer. In a way, he even understood it. Sonic still wasn't always the best at sharing a spotlight, but even Sally could see he was making visible efforts to change that. But much like Sally, and much less like Maximilian, he didn't need a spotlight or to even begin considering his own reputation. If people were in trouble, he acted. Plain and simple as that, and with the stakes currently being much bigger than they had been in over a decade, Sonic wasn't planning on allowing some petty grudge from his wife's father to keep him from doing what was right.

As expected, Maximillian would snap: "I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, FOREIGNER!" But the next thing he said threatened to flip a switch in Sonic: "Go back to caring for your bastard children and stay out of my way."

Sonic would take a moment to relax as Maximillian rolled past him, still grumbling insults towards his kids and their family name as he did so. Sonic would both pray for strength and do his best to think of Sally and a platter of chili dogs. He genuinely began to wonder how much bigger of a platter Sally would have waiting for him, post battle of course, if he resisted the urge to spindash her father into a running river right now. besides that, time wasn't exactly on his side. The more time he spent arguing with the thick, both metaphorically and literally, fossil, the more time and opportunity Gong's army would have to conquer the country. And the city of Acorn, much as it wasn't his jam, would be soon to follow.

"Like I said, I didn't ask your permission to help." Sonic finally replied. "So you just do your thing while we do ours." Sonic would direct a glare towards Maximilian as he prepped himself to run. "And talk about my kids that way again, and I'll let Sal have a piece of ya. Trust me when I say you don't want that." Maximilian wouldn't get a chance to respond as Sonic blasted across the grass fields that stretched miles beyond the property, leaving a couple deep skid marks into the grass for good measure.

---

Gong would notice the million of drops of rain that began to fall from the dark clouds above as he and his growing army continued to approach. A slight damper in his mood given the burning blockade he and his soldiers were setting around the country, but it certainly benefited him in terms of setting. With his soldiers as numerous as the drops of rain, and the rising sun nearly blocked out, Gong decided he would make good use of it. Ensuring that in the Kings final moments, as well as that of anyone he sent to stop him, would be shrouded in fear and despair. He may even draw out the death of the hedgehog just to see what happened.

By now, Gong and his army of armored soldiers, cannons, Kamezons, Raiju, and Shinobi, would be proceeding down a large hill with the city wall visible about a hundred feet ahead, not a single battalion of soldiers waiting. Gong couldn't help chuckling at the sight of bare grass before the wall. 'Maximillian's doom approaches and not a single person, aside from the soldiers stationed at the top of the gate, is placed outside to delay the inevitable?' Either the king of Mobotropolis was arrogant or a fool. The Gorilla would have pegged him a coward in that moment if it weren't for their conversation a couple days prior. At the very least, he didn't care what people thought of him.

Gong would stop a moment to turn and address his soldiers: "See this city that lays before you! Observe, my brothers and sisters in arms as they watch from atop the tower in disillusioned comfort! They believe they are safe, but they know nothing of the might of the Dragon Kingdom!" Gong waited to continue as cheers erupted from the army. "I warned their frail king that we are a nation not to be taken lightly, yet in his arrogance, he gives us fifty armed men atop a wall!" Laughter would momentarily erupt from the large crowd. "They keep their distance and expect that to save them! In return for such arrogance, for such cowardice, we will show them no mercy! And I only humbly ask that you save the king and his princess for me. But for everyone else, citizens included, no mercy! For the rest of the day, we will lay waste to this fallen nation! And when the sun rises on a new day, then we will show mercy! Only because any survivors will either increase our strength, or be an example to all else who wish to oppose us!"

The army would erupt into cheers and applause as Gong turned back towards his fated conquest, proceeding towards the wall with his army charging behind him. By now, he was still certain that there were still ships unloading at the beach. Likely numbering in the hundreds. But with the many soldiers behind him, it hardly mattered. They would catch up eventually. Even if they didn't, they knew where the city would be and there were more than enough soldiers available to pass the information around.

However, while everyone would still be in the middle of their charge, Gong's eyes would take notice of a small object soaring through the sky. Gong would stop and hold up his right arm, signaling everyone to stop as he would then take a listen, focusing on said object to either confirm or deny his current suspicion. Along with being aware of this land's fabled Hedgehog, Gong would also be aware of his allies, having taken some time before the boat trip to read up on each individual in the team of Knothole Freedom Fighters. All for the sake of training his mind to be ready for whatever resources the team could still throw at him.

Gong's smirk grew as his suspicions were immediately confirmed by the sound of an engine roaring from within the object in question. On closer examination, the object would even reveal the familiar shape of a large blue plane with about eight compartments, all wide enough to seat two people, a set of blasters on both sides at the front, and a propeller at the front to guarantee maximum velocity. But Gong considered the Tornado MK III little reason to worry. Especially considering that he had technically brought a counter measure.

"Gunners!" Gong commanded. "Take aim."

---

Sally would gaze down at the the field of grass below from a seat next to her husband in the Tornado, her expression more than a little worried as she struggled to take in the sheer numbers of soldiers, warriors, massive guns and robots in Gong's army. Sonic definitely hadn't been exaggerating when he told her about the concerning number of people, though had somewhat expected it. She knew that the Dragon Kingdom's overall population greatly exceeded that of the city of Mobotropolis, so it only followed that their military would be of a much grander scale as well. But this fact hadn't made the sight any less shocking or concerning. Sure, everyone on this plane had faced many seemingly impossible odds in their own right, heck, they had beaten Robotnik together. Still, even with a well thought out strategy, the Squirrelmunk couldn't be entirely certain that the odds were in their favor.

The tomboyish Princess would only become more concerned upon noticing the structurally unorganized patterns in some parts of this massive army. With no hint or signs structural integrity or evenness. Granted, this wasn't everywhere in the large collection of Mobians, but to a well experienced tactician such as herself, things like this usually stuck out like a sore thumb to her. Upon closer examination, many of the soldiers in these small groups also didn't appear to have a proper battle stance. Some even appeared to lack a proper hold, or even a grip, over their varied weaponry.

Sally immediately became horrified, the realization hitting her with the force of a bullet train. Not only would the Freedom Fighters have to fight their way through legions of soldiers, least until her father's army arrived. Gong was throwing his own citizens at them! Citizens who likely wanted no part in this war. People who had families or a life of their own back in their home country and were only participating under the threat of imprisonment, or worse death. Something she was also certain the Gorilla knew she would take pity over. After her aforementioned victory against Robotnik about sixteen years back, Sally found it hard to imagine that anyone would attempt to go toe to toe with her without conducting some form of research to ensure a guarantee of victory. Anything that would give an opposing force a great idea of her battle tactics as well as any physical or psychological weaknesses. If that were the case here, it was definitely well played.

But regardless of Sally's genuine sympathies for these people, it unfortunately wouldn't change the fact that these citizen soldiers were currently a very dangerous threat to her nation and its people. Any form of hesitation to take them down down from the count would undoubtedly prove fatal, and with a limited number of fighters of her own, that wasn't exactly something she could afford risking. She wasn't even sure the Mobotropolis Royal Guard could take that risk. Unfortunate as it was, fighting them with the same resolve they would use against the far better trained enemy soldiers was the only viable option. For now, at least.

Sally's eyes would immediately dart in the direction of one of the large cannons as it would be positioned at angle only fatal to everyone on the plane.

"Tails, look out!"

The two tailed fox, an adult by this point, had either noticed the cannon long before she had, or Sally had managed to warn him just in time as a glowing red ball of metal barreled it's way towards them, the Tornado tilting to its side just in time before the projectile could do any catastrophic damage. Effectively seeing that the time for observation was over, Sally would turn quickly back towards the other Mobians, and a black and yellow Metal Sonic with a expression of both determination and confidence. Even if there wasn't much reason to be confident in their chances of survival in that moment, Sally wasn't about to show any signs of panic and risk putting the mission or city at bigger risk. 'Mission and positivity first, everything else later.' She thought.

"Remember, the mission is to hold them back as long as you can!" Sally shouted. "Just stick to the plan and we might be able to hold them off long enough before Maximillian and his troops get here! Amy, I want you on the ground with Sonic, Shard, and Mina! They're gonna do what they can to even the odds, but feel free to go all out if necessary!"

Amy nodded with a determined expression of her own. "Leave it to us, commander!"

Shard would lean back into his seat with a smirk. "Cant think of a better way to prove who's the fastest hedgie around!"

Sonic would smirk back at the turncoat Metal Sonic. "In your dreams, tin can!"

Sally nodded, an indication of trust to the pink hedgehog before turning to the others while also ignoring the other two bickering hedgehogs. "Rotor, I need you and Tails to remain airborne! Take out as many cannons as you can, but keep a safe distance! We risk blowing the entire operation if either of you goes out of commission!"

Rotor would take a moment to place a yellow helmet atop of his head, the rest of his yellow suit of armor prepped and ready to take flight. "Just tell me when, Sally!"

Sally would turn her head next to the red vixen. "Fiona, I know you've got a thing for computers, so I'd like you and Nicole to keep your distance for now. For now, I want you to see if you can hack into any of those robots down there and use one to our advantage. Once they've all been disposed of, you're more than welcome to join the party."

Fiona would immediately begin typing commands into an orange and white laptop on her lap as she responded with a smirk: "Don't sweat it, red. I don't mind busting up a few toys for."

Finally, Sally would turn her head to the blue Hedgehog seated next to her. "And Sonic?" She planted a kiss on his lips. "Be careful."

Sonic would smile as he climbed out from his seat to stand atop of the ledge overlooking the field below. "Over and out, Sal."

Sonic would then cross his arms and fall backwards off of the ledge, catching Sally off guard for a moment before she leaned over the aforementioned ledge to glare down at him. "HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE CAREFUL?!"

Sonic's response would be to wink and give her a thumbs up as he smirked and shouted back: "Love you too, babe!"

Sonic would roll himself into a ball while still in midair and spindash off of as many soldiers as he could with Shard and Mina, though reluctantly so, following suite. Each speedster in question would be sure to use the crowding soldiers and ninjas to their advantage, knocking one into several to cause a bit of a bowling pin effect. It probably wouldn't do much in terms of knocking anyone out, but it would at the very least keep some of them grounded for a while. Hopefully long enough for Amy to not get too overwhelmed once she had landed. The speedsters would also pick up the pace when confronted with any of the Kamezons, spindashing through them at a repeatedly fast enough pace to break them apart. Given the large claws and superior sizes, none of the three would require Tails to tell them that these things would be a huge problem if left intact.

The Tornado would hover low to the ground for a moment as Amy jumped from the side wielding her hammer, and Rotor blasted off from his seat to the skies. Amy would use both her natural strength and the force of her fall to slam her hammer against the ground, causing a small quake and splitting the ground in several places, causing many soldiers, Raiju, and Shinobi to fall in. Amy would next swing her hammer at the remaining warriors who charged towards her, smacking wave after wave into several different directions. On occasion, she would even direct the raining opponents towards the speedsters, giving them projectiles of their own to bounce towards the millions of opponents below them.

"Thanks, Ames!" Shard and Sonic would both call over.

Amy's response would be to smirk and wink over at the blue Hedgehog. "Anything for you, my Sonikku!"

Sonic would immediately stop spindashing across the army's soldiers for a moment to gaze back at Amy with an annoyed expression. "You know I'm happily married, right?"

"Only for now!" Amy responded, a dreamy smile on her face as she continued smacking soldiers away.

Again, Sonic would look annoyed. "With kids-?"

"JUST LEAVE THE GIRL IN BLISS FOR NOW, OLLIE!" Shard would quickly interrupt while dealing with a crowd of Kamezons. "WE HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT RIGHT NOW!"

Though still greatly annoyed, Sonic would resume his assigned role and continue spindashing opponents with the Metal Sonic,

"Fine! But I'm smashing that body of yours to bits if you ever call me that again!"

"Whoa whoa, hit the brakes, blue!" Shard responded with a hint of sass. Then teasing: "I just thought you wouldn't mind since Sally calls you that all the time!"

Sonic's face reddened. "That's different!"

Rotor would keep himself in a constant motion as he soared across the sky, aiming and firing at the cannons below in as much of a rapid succession as his auto targeting system would allow. As well as as often was possible in order to keep the blasters on his forearms from overheating. Meanwhile, Tails would be doing his best to shoot while maneuvering the large plane around the cannonballs, something that proved difficult considering the much larger size in comparison to Rotor who continued to dodge gracefully. To be fair, both would continue to be rather successful in destroying the cannons, several exploding from their retaliation, but it hadn't done much to help the problem. Not with twenty or so more cannons coming up over the hill every five seconds. And with the number of soldiers only continuing to grow, not to mention the constant build up of rain threatening to impair their vision, Tails wasn't quite ready to attempt taking action against everyone waiting on the other side of the hill. Especially not while he didn't have enough time to shift the aircraft into its faster X mode.

The adult Fox would call back to the Vixen seated behind him while doing his best to keep his eyes on the battlefield. "How is that encryption coming along, Fiona?!"

Fiona would have her eyes practically glued to the screen as she typed commands into the laptop as quickly as her fingers would move, Sally sitting next to her while holding Nicole's handheld close by. "Going as fast as I can!" Fiona would look briefly at the device in Sally's hand. "What about you?!"

"Firewall breach in T-minus: twenty seconds." Nicole responded.

Sally placed a hand on Fiona's shoulder. "Just do the best you can and take as long as you need! Too much of a rush might make things worse!"

"Got it!" Fiona responded, pumping a fist as she typed in a new set of commands.

Back down below, one of the Kamezons' optics would shift from their normal bright red, to a bright shade of orange. The Kamezon would then immediately after begin attacking its surroundings, slashing viciously at other Kamezons while smacking and punching nearby soldiers into unconsciousness. Another Kamezon wouldn't be too far behind, its optics turning purple before Nicole would control the large machine to attack as well. Per Sally's orders, both Fiona and Nicole would make sure to only use fatal attacks on the other Kamezons and refrain from using them on any of the other warriors. Sally was fairly certain they didn't stand a chance anyway.

Meanwhile in the midst of the action, Gong would simply remain still. With several soldiers ahead of the Gorilla who had decided to take some time to observe the battle. Not that he feared any of the Freedom Fighters. Far from it, in fact. He knew since the very beginning that their chances at victory were nothing less than embarrassingly slim. With his numbers far exceeding their own, Gong expected that they would eventually grow tired after long hours of fighting, and come to meet their brutal ends within maybe an hours time. Maybe sooner, considering so many people were still getting around the pink hedgehog, and had nearly reached the very wall they were fighting so desperately to protect.

But Gong also found this predictable ending to be rather boring. Not to mention a waste of time. Hence his reason for observing. Gong figured that if he could find a quicker and more efficient way to be done with the freedom fighters, he could get his conquest over with that much sooner. That, and he figured the fact that they were such "legends" earned them a more honorable death than simply dying from exhaustion. Though, he could also settle with far less.

Gong gazed first at the battle plane, and the flying walrus, observing their both constant and temporary progress in destroying the cannons. He found the answer to this would be simple: more cannons. Judging from the constant maneuvering, and the occasional breaks from firing back, that they were already close to being overwhelmed. And as fate would have it, Gong still had thousands currently on their way. To make matters better, they would also be too far out of sight for either inventor to prepare a countermeasure for. From there, assuming the mutant Fox could still fly, he and everyone in the plane with him would be out in the open and in a more than perfect place for the cannons already over the hill to finish the job.

Gong tapped the shoulder to the nearest gunman. "Inform all the gunners on the other side of the hill to fire up. And without question."

"But sir?" The soldier asked shakily. "Won't we kill some of our men?"

"There are more than enough to spare." Gong got close to his face. "Question me again, and you will not be one of them."

The soldier would say nothing after this, running as fast as his legs would carry him up the hill.

Next would be the aforementioned pink Hedgehog. 'Amy Rose.' Gong remembered. Another veteran from the Robotnik war, well known for her vast strength, obsession with sonic, and her determination. If the legends were true, Amy was also said to be fast enough to occasionally catch up with the hero of Mobius. Especially while he was running. Gong couldn't help but wonder, however, if her reflexes were just as fast as her legs. If her somewhat slow movements with the large hammer could be used against her. No doubt, Gong would rip the girl in two if he were in close proximity, but he knew his strength would be better reserved for Maximillian's skull. His plan for her would also be to overwhelm her, though not with opponents of strength. More ones of swiftness. And a stealth that even she wouldn't see coming.

Gong turned to one of the soldiers standing nearby. "You, find the Bride of Constant Vigil. Tell her to send all her forces after the pink Hedgehog."

The soldier would nod and rush off to find the Bride in question as Gong would finally observe the Hedgehog's. Gong thought for a moment how to better best them on this field of battle. Could he insult the blue Hedgehog and use his pride against him? Maybe wait for the Mongoose to watch as he ripped him limb from limb and then pursue her in her rising anxiety until she was left a shaky mess to die a humiliating death? Gong even considered stuffing the Metal Sonic and Hedgehog both into one of the nearby Cannons and set off the fuse while they were trapped.

Finally Gong would chuckle as he realized that he would have no need for any of these plans. With everything already set in motion to dispose of Amy, Tails, and Rotor, the resulting shock of their deaths or the mere concern for their comrades would be more than enough to put them off guard. And it would be in that very shock, that very fear when Gong's army would overwhelm them. Maybe even trample them to death. Such a death would be rather ironic for each speedster, but it would be quick and effective. 'Though far from painless.' Gong thought with a grin.

Meanwhile, Tails would still be doing his best to dodge and weave between the incoming cannonballs while also continuing to blast away at their varied points of origin. A feat that proved itself difficult with the fog buildup on his windshield and the two women in the seat behind him either too distracted or flat out refusing to wear a seatbelt. Fiona's deluded insistence that the team would be much safer without them aside, Tails also figured that it could've been a case of both. With Sally giving her undivided attention to the battlefield and Fiona rapidly typing away as many commands of attack as she could, Tails would have begun to wonder if either woman had even processed what he said if not for the Vixen's aforementioned response. Regardless, the lack of belts would make it near impossible for the Fox to manage any, by now much needed, sharper turns without potentially throwing one of them out of the plane. Tails would have actually considered doing that anyway if the circumstances were much less dire. Mainly for the sake of spooking Fiona out of her then lack of common sense.

Unfortunately, and as if things weren't bad enough, the Fox would begin to notice a far more fatal problem. For in the midst of his frustration, Tails would then notice the next set of cannonballs quickly approaching their position. This one far larger than the other waves that had come before and growing larger with each passing second. Though initially confused as there would still be about fifty cannons on their side of the hill, the same amount he and Rotor had been managing to deal with already, it wouldn't take Tails long to figure out the answer for himself. Not after remembering the nearly constant pace of which these cannons had been replaced. In fact, Tails would also notice, to his horror, what must have been the glow of hundreds upon hundreds of cannonballs glowing from the other side of a thickening cloud of fog. A fear that only grew worse upon noticing a few fall past him. Followed by numbers more of the iron projectiles.

Tails would, in a near panic, then shout after his still airborne friend: "ROTOR! THE CANNONS!"

"I know, I'm working on it!" Rotor shouted back, using the com link in his helmet to respond to him.

"NO, I MEAN THAT-!"

But Tails wouldn't get a second more to elaborate as another cannonball fell from the sky, making impact with the jet pack on Rotor's back, sending him hurling limply towards the ground below. Time seemed to slow down for the Fox as he watched both the impact, and descent, in a feeling that made him sick to his stomach. He felt a mixture of both uncertainty and dread as he shifted gears and maneuvered the plane downwards, likely catching both of his friends behind him off guard. But he would deal with them later. Chaos or not, and though his friend might be dead, Tails couldn't take a risk of uncertainty by allowing him to instead fall to his dead. Not like he could anyway. These people practically raised and cared for him for most of his life. Even when he was at his emotionally worst. He wouldn't repay that kindness with abandonment. Not even if they asked him to.

"TAILS!"

The Fox had finally heard Sally and Fiona both shouting at him seconds before another cannonball would come crashing into one of the Tornado's wings, shattering it on impact. The resulting spiral would cause both women to hang tightly to the edges of their seats, Fiona losing hold of her laptop as a result. The sudden change of events would also give Fiona no time to make another grab for it as the laptop would be yanked from her lap. Said computer would immediately become beyond salvageable as it made impact with the other wing to the plane and shattered into bits.

"NO!" Fiona shouted.

Though the computer certainly wasn't worth risking her life over, it had been her only means of controlling the Kamezon she had hacked into. Without it, their ground forces would now be down by one soldier. In a situation where they needed all the help they could get. And Fiona knew better than to assume that Sonic, Mina, and Shard would last forever down there. 'Okay, maybe Shard.' Fiona thought. 'On account of him being a machine incapable of actually getting tired.' But even then, Fiona couldn't be sure.

Tails, meanwhile, would be unbuckling his seatbelt as quickly as he could manage in the moment. Just because his plane was out of commission, didn't mean he couldn't still use both of his tails. If he could only manage to get out of his seat before this plane could hit the ground, he would take whatever time could be spared, grabbing and flying safely to the ground with Sally and Fiona. With enough time, he figured he could even save Rotor. Heavy as that suit was(70 pounds the last time he checked), he still had to try.

Upon finally getting himself free, Tails wouldn't waste a second, jumping towards both Sally and Fiona with as much force as his legs could muster. The Fox would also waste no time, giving an explanation as he would press both arms beneath their armpits and wrap them around their backs. The Fox would then hold both of his friends tightly close to himself before jumping over the back of the seat, the rest of the Tornado falling past him as he spun his tails quickly. With both of his friends now saved from a potentially painful death, Tails would make a b line towards the still falling Walrus.

Back on the ground, Amy would still be swinging her hammer and knocking wave after wave of soldiers back as a cannonball made its way past her head. An incident that would immediately cause the pink Hedgehog to look up for a brief moment. Amy almost didn't have time to react as another one dropped towards her, rolling back and smacking it back with her hammer. Hopefully right back to wherever it came from!' Amy hoped.

With her gaze directed at the sky, and a hammer still consistently swung at the soldiers and cannonballs, Amy would next catch sight of the falling debris from the Tornado. Thankfully, she was nowhere near it. With the constant barrage of soldiers and raining cannonballs being added to the mix, that would've only been unfair. But Amy still couldn't help feeling an unusual sense of despair at the sight of her yellow armored friend in free fall. She would also notice as Tails desperately made his way towards him in a clear attempt to reach him and stop his fall. But the Fox was having no such luck. Rotor was clearly heavier, more than he already was, in that suit of armor, so naturally gravity had a much greater effect on him. And even if Tails could catch up in time, his hands were currently full with Sally and Fiona. But maybe Amy could. If she could only rush past through the crowd of soldiers In front of her, maybe she could manage the buildup of motion necessary to jump up and catch him.

Amy wouldn't put a second thought into it before smacking the current crowd away with her hammer and rushing in the direction of where she was sure Rotor would be landing. Additionally, the pink Hedgehog would also have her hammer raised and prepped to swing at any resistance that threatened to get in her way. Considering the large number that only grew larger with each collection of soldiers coming over the hill, Amy already had to use it a couple times. But she was certain that it would matter very little in a moment. At least once she got to the proper spot to catch her friend.

Unfortunately, Amy wouldn't get very far before a kunai plunged it's way through her shoulder, the pink Hedgehog yelping before being yanked back. Amy barely managed to pull apart the rope between the blade and the wielder in before reaching her opponent, quickly rolling to her feet and swinging at where she assumed her assailant would be. Much to Amy's misfortune, and her already rising sense of unease, there would be no such opponent to meet her hammers fury. Come to think of it, Amy didn't see anyone nearby. She would've begun wondering if she had imagined things if it wasn't for the blade still in her shoulder. One of which she didn't bother pulling out. The blade could've hit a blood vessel and currently be blocking the blood flow, after all. Despite their chances already being slim, she didn't imagine taking her self out for the count was gonna help anything.

The Hedgehog yelped in pain as she get herself being slashed across the forearm, again by an invisible force. Again, Amy found herself in pain as another slashed across her side. In her current state of anxiety, Amy would swing her hammer around rapidly only to be met with either another cut or some form of attack that nearly knocked her off her feet. A fear that would prove difficult considering her strength, but it wasn't any less stress inducing.

Sonic, Mina, and Shard would still be in the middle of spindashing opponents, remaining airborne as they would all turn their momentary attentions to the sounds of Amy's screaming and shouting. Each speedster would immediately feel nothing short of concern upon noticing the small blade in Amy's shoulder, as well as the various bleeding cuts on her body. Though their call to attention was brief, a moment would be more than enough time for the three to process the imminent danger their friend was in. As well as the potential fatality that awaited her if they didn't help her out soon.

But Sonic would quickly find that his pink friend wasn't the only one in danger as his emerald green eyes caught sight of more movement just above the pre established scene before him. The other person in question would be none other than Rotor Walrus, a longtime friend of his since before the beginning of the Robotnik War, In a frighteningly fast fall. Sonic would also take notice as Tails did his best to catch up to him while holding tightly to Sally and Fiona. Considering how much the Walrus already weighed, Sonic found it hard to imagine that his suit was doing Tails any favors in that area. Even less so, the Hedgehog figured, once Sonic noticed the damaged jet pack on the back of it. Considering his current distance, Sonic figured that Rotor had about twenty seconds before he hit the ground. Time of which, while being the near perfect definition of boredom for speedsters like him, still proved potentially fatal for the Walrus if they didn't act quickly.

Sonic quickly turned his attention to Mina and Shard, both of whom would still be assisting him with the rest of Gong's army as he shouted at them with much urgency in his voice: "Shard! Go after Rotor and get him down safely! And help Amy out after with the Shinobi punks! Mina? Give her some backup until then!"

Shard immediately nodded and blasted off with a: "You got it, boss!"

The Mongoose, while sensing the urgency of the matter at hand, would be quick to ask: "What about Tails-?!"

"Your husband is fine!" Sonic answered, almost snapping at her. "Now go!"

Mina, while not entirely appreciative of the way her question was answered, would at the very least be assured of Miles' safety, nodding and zooming off in Amy's direction while Sonic continued to spindash soldier after soldier.

While Mina would be busy zooming around Amy in the form of a ball and tripping up any surrounding Chameleons, Shard would be doing his best to dodge cannonballs and falling debris from the broken wing to the Tornado. This would not go unnoticed to the Gorilla who continued to observe his progress with much satisfaction. Regardless of how fast Sonic truly was, Gong knew that it would only be a matter of time before he was overrun and overwhelmed by sheer numbers. The Mongoose would no doubt fall before Sonic did due to her lack of experience. In comparison to the Hero of Mobius at least. But the Metal Sonic posed a potential problem. On top of being just as fast as Sonic, the machine also possessed the ability of flight, and likely the necessary strength required to slow the armored Walrus's motion. Along with potentially more applications that the king was unaware of.

In that moment, his next target became clear. The mutant Fox and his friends could wait. Not like there was much they could really do to make a difference once they landed. As it currently happened, Gong saw it as a perfect opportunity to eliminate two of the Princess's most valuable assets. And if he could be rid of them in a disheartening fashion, it would only benefit him further. With a smirk, Gong would raise his bladed mace to earn the attention of his gunners.

"ALL GUNNERS!" Gong shouted. "AIM AT THE METAL SONIC!"

Among the surrounding crowds of people to hear this command, would be the Kamezon still under control by Nicole the Holo-Lynx. The AI's heartbeat would've skyrocketed in that moment had she the necessary organ. Nonetheless, she would feel a panicked sense of urgency as she rushed through the crowd of soldiers in front of her and in the direction of the Gorilla King. In ninety percent of the circumstances that would normally present themselves, Sally would normally argue that her current course of action was immoral. Maybe even unnecessary. But even if he wasn't guaranteed death in that moment, he could just as easily transfer his conscience into another body back in Chucks lab, the mech she loved was in danger. Even if that wasn't the case, Gong showed no signs of hesitation, or even the slightest intent on stopping. He was here to achieve victory no matter how many people he had to kill. Nicole only saw it necessary to give him the same "generosity".

There would be no room for the element of surprise, however, as the Gorilla would almost immediately turn his attention to the charging Kamezon. It would be clear in that moment that he noticed the change in color of optics, and was therefore expecting an attack of some sort. But despite the fact that a larger and more dangerous piece of machinery was currently making its way towards him, he didn't appear in the least bit intimidated. He only appeared to be patiently waiting, in fact. Seeing better in that moment to simply approach with any simple manner of attacks, Nicole would extend the claws in the metallic hands of the Kamezon to their full length, intent of striking his head off his shoulders with a swift and harsh attack.

But right as Nicole had been about to reach her opponent, every cannon around them would fire, distracting her attention. Nicole would immediately be sent into a distraught state of mind as the cannonballs each made their violent progression towards the unsuspecting Metal Sonic. A distraught that Gong was more than happy to take advantage of as he swung the mace with all of might and vicious precision. Nicole wouldn't have enough time to react before the Kamezon was beheaded, sending her conciseness back into the handheld device that Sally continued to grip in fear of dropping it.

Wasting no time, Nicole would immediately open a private com link with Shard and shout as loud and as quickly as she thought he would be able to register: "SHARD, LOOK OUT!"

Shard would have nearly reached the falling Walrus right as he had heard Nicole's private transmission. It wouldn't take him much longer to figure out what the big deal was as he turned slightly and noticed the mass of balls of hot lead barreling towards the two. Shard would quickly gaze back up at Tails and the girls in his arms, finding them to be in close proximity as well. Though at the very least, Nicole was generating a green force field around them from her handheld. But with not a lot of time to spare as the cannonballs only drew closer, Shard would grab Rotor and blast closer towards the ground, prepping his consciousness for transfer and generating a golden shield around them. Due to the energy it required to continue flying on top of prepping himself for transfer into another exoskeleton at the very moment this one might be destroyed, the shield wasn't coming along too quickly. Without a doubt, the shield would take the impact of most of the canon blasts. But only most of them. Without the amount of time needed, some would still impact the both of them. 'Or one of us.' Shard thought. The mech would immediately do his best to shield the armored Walrus with his body as the cannonballs would finally come close enough to make impact, multiple explosions erupting from the resulting collision.

As expected, the Fox and his friends would be fine, the shield, having wrapped around them fast enough to absorb the oncoming barrage of cannonballs. But many others would not be so lucky. Along with the destruction of Shard's exoskeleton, what remained of the Tornado would also be blown to bits, the wreckage falling quickly. Mina herself almost wouldn't notice in time before stopping her movements against the Shinobi and grabbing a still bleeding Amy. Mina didn't bother explaining, she felt she didn't have the time necessary, as she managed to run out of the way just in time before the wreckage and remaining cannonballs rained from the sky onto everything that would, at that point, be behind them. Many of the Shinobi in the area didn't have enough time to move at that point before they were destroyed or crushed by the remaining cannonballs, the survivors barely out of the way of the falling projectiles. Though the Mongoose had managed to put some good distance between herself and the cannonballs, the debris resulting from the multiple crashes would find their way into one of her legs. Mine immediately yelped and collapsed from the pain that would only grow worse with each attempt to scramble back to her feet.

Gong's smile would only grow larger as he continued to watch the domino effect of near victories before him. With Amy and Mina currently grounded in too bad of a shape to fight, the Metal Sonic disposed of, and Sally and her three friends still in a protective bubble and hopeless to do anything about either Rotor or the blue Hedgehog, now under attack after the shock of his friends circumstances had caused him to foolishly stop, victory was now most certainly at hand. Without a doubt, the small group had put up a decent fight. Heck, they lasted longer than the Gorilla had expected. But Gong would have no pity for them. Maybe admiration at the very least. After all, they knew the odds and yet still they made the choice to face those fatal odds head on. Noble for sure, but ultimately foolish.

But just as Gong was ready to give his army the order to kill, his attention would shift curiously towards the dark, cloudy sky, certain that he had heard something of a distant roar. A roar unlike anything he had heard in his lifetime. Gong would also take notice as the drops of rain would no longer fall at the same frequency as before. Fog would even begin to clear itself from the skies and the surrounding battlefield. Confused and impatient, Gong would direct his attention next to the grounded Hedgehog with the intent of demanding to know which of them was responsible for the act of sorcery. Much to both his continued confusion and frustration, Sonic would visibly prove to be just as in the dark.

Gong nearly decided to ignore these changes in atmosphere and order his army to continue their attack before a long object of gold sped past him, carrying powerful surges of lightning that exploded from the staff in every spot, of which, it dived closely before resuming its predestined path. First over Sonic, blasting away the hundreds of soldiers that were crowded around him. Next, the staff would pass beneath Rotor, whom had nearly hit the ground before a cloud formed from the weapon, giving him a softer landing and causing him to bounce back up for a moment due to its unnatural texture. For good measure, the staff would also strike at the falling debris and cannonballs that threatened to crush him, either blasting it to bits or sending it too far away for it to be a fatal concern. Next, the relic would strike at the large collection of soldiers charging towards the pink Hedgehog and yellow Mongoose, blasting them all away while Mina and Amy gazed in shock. Finally, the weapon would fly past Sally, Tails, Fiona, and Nicole, all still airborne as it struck and destroyed the last of the approaching cannonballs with a strand of lightning that broke apart into the tendrils necessary to reach each one before zipping back through the clouds.

After this, nothing would happen for a moment. But only a short moment before the clouds would then break apart to reveal an all too familiar Chimpanzee riding atop the head of a green Dragon the size of a mountain and wielding the Atom Bat with pride, the sun rising behind them. Behind the young Monkey would be an army of dragons, each of different sizes and colors and numbering in the thousands. Each Dragon would also bear a rider, among those whom the Mobotropolis Freedom Fighters could recognize were: Barby Koala, Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolette, Espio Chameleon, and the very Monkey leading the charge. Ken had also appeared to ditch his usual attire of sweatpants with a hoodie. Instead, while he did still wear sweatpants(though blue this time), Ken had also donned a blue cape with golden shoulder plates and two strands of red that draped down in front of him, both bearing decorative images of golden dragons.

For a moment, everyone could only stare in shock, a shock that quickly turned to relief or excitement for the Mobotropolis Freedom Fighters.

"Is that Ken?!" Tails exclaimed, still not entirely able to believe his eyes.

"Wait, I see Bunnie and Antoine too!" Fiona answered, pointing at the two dragons from which they rode.

Meanwhile, Amy would be a cheering mess while Mina would remain in shock for a moment. "I'm gonna have to write a new song about this, aren't I?"

Sonic would simply smirk up at the sight, finding himself more amused than anything. But nonetheless impressed with the boys new powers. And his new friends. "Yo!" Sonic would call. "Past cool, kiddo!" With nothing much else to be said, Sonic would then zoom over towards a group of unsuspecting foes and resume his prior motion of spindashes and homing attacks.

Gong, meanwhile, would only be able to gaze in shock. Though clearly not the same shock as any of the surrounding Freedom Fighters. For a moment, the Gorilla would even begin to wonder if his mind had been playing tricks on him. Of course, the Gorilla king had already assumed that the Monkey Khan had embarked on a journey to find the weapon he currently wielded, but he never figured the boy would get far. Not this far! 'And how?!' Gong wondered. 'Surely no one in the line of Khan is worthy of such an artifact! They are pampered! Untested! Unworthy of such power! The bastard couldn't even beat me days ago when I gave him the chance to earn the throne back!' The Gorilla only continued struggling to understand the visual oxymoron before him. Something like this was unprecedented! Illogical! But most of all...

"Impossible." Gong growled.

But it mattered little now, Gong decided. So what if the Atom Bat had a flawed sense of judgement? So what if it favored the blood of royalty more than those willing to fight for that right? Willing to earn that right? Gong would prove the weapon wrong anyway. Once he had finished with the Princess of Acorn, he would make the last in the line of Khan his next target. Only then would the weapon and all of Mobanity see. Only then would he prove that in the end it was those who were strong-willed and unafraid of a fight, even if they had to face the entire world, worthy of a place of authority. Only then might his father's death finally be given the meaning it deserved.

From atop the head of the Bride of Roaring Skies, Ken would observe the battlefield. Near the shore, many ships were still making their way towards a beach now littered with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. No doubt an overwhelming force for any army Mobotropolis could hope to provide. And if the millions more on the boats was to be of any indication, the Mobotropolis Freedom Fighters hadn't even seen the worst of it yet. Ken would also take quick notice of the cannons littered below them, more than easily numbering in the thousands. Somehow the Monkey had a feeling that firing lightning at the projectiles all day wouldn't quite cut it. It would be at this moment where Ken would further consider his new army of Dragons to be a genuine blessing from the Lord. Otherwise, he wasn't quite sure what he would've done once he had gotten here.

"Send as many dragons as you can spare after the boats!" Ken shouted in hopes that the massive Dragon could hear him. "If we can exhaust or overwhelm their resources, Gong won't be able to take Mobotropolis and I can deal with him without any interference! Until then, do you think you and I will be enough for the cannons on shore?!"

"IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE!" The Bride of Roaring Skies would answer.

"What about the rest of us?!" Barby would call, her Dragon flying close to the Bride of Roaring Skies.

"Help the Freedom Fighters as best as you can, but be careful and keep your distance from the Cannons!" Ken shouted.

"Does that count for us as well, your majesty?"

Ken would immediately turn to face the source of the wise and elderly voice, spotting both the Bride of Endless Reach and the Bride of Rich Nights sitting together on the back of another dragon while hundreds of Yagyu and Gossamer rode on the backs of other dragons. Ken's expression became an excited smile. "You all came?!"

"The Web of Prophecy of dictated it for us." The Bride of Endless Reach answered.

"And the rest of us were bored!" Emerald answered from the back of another Dragon.

"Then yes!" Ken answered with a smile. "Same to the rest of you!"

"Loud and clear, handsome!" Katrina answered while teasingly blowing him a kiss. "See you at the end of this?!"

Ken smirked. "Is that an invitation?"

Emerald would only answer with a smile before the dragon she rode would perform a dive over the battlefield, along with every other carrying Yagyu, Gossamer, and Freedom Fighters. From there, each passenger would drop strategically into different places scattered along the battlefield and immediately engage in battle. All except for the Dragons on which Relic and Barby rode. While Relic was far from a combatant, she had insisted on coming along. For the sake of "watching history unfold". After enough begging, and nearly falling off of a random Dragon she had decided to cling to, Ken saw it better to let her come along than to risk her doing anything more dangerous. As for Barby, he couldn't be sure.

"I owe you big time for this, Ken!" Barby called. "Any favors you wanna call in after this is over?!"

Ken shook his head and smiled. "I've got my family! I'm good with that!"

"Offer's still open if you change your mind!" Barby called before her Dragon would dive as well, conveniently placing her next to Sally as she, Fiona, and Tails finally landed.

The next guest to greet Ken would be none other than his mother and father, the latter clinging to the formers back. "Ken-." Antoine started.

"I know, I'm still grounded." Ken replied.

Antoine and Bunnie both chuckled. "No no, just telling you zat we are both of being proud of you."

Bunnie nodded, her pride showing in her gaze. "Very proud of ya, sugah-chimp!" Bunnie would then give her son a smirk as she added: "And it's a month if we get this done before dinner!"

Ken chuckled. "You got it!"

Once Bunnie and Antoine had flown ahead, Ken would finally address Relic with a raised eyebrow while the Pika appeared to stare a bit blankly: "Promise to keep your distance? Also why are you looking at me like that?"

Relic immediately snapped out of her gaze, looking a little embarrassed. "Oh, I was staring?"

Ken's expression went flat. "Relic-."

"Ugh, fine." Relic replied, crossing her arms and pouting. "I'll keep my distance."

"Great. Sayonara, tiny!" Ken called before the Bride took off.

Immediately enraged, Relic would glare and shout after Ken: "STOP MAKING FUN OF MY SIZE! AND THAT'S JAPANESE, YOU DUMBA-!"

Ken would fight not to chuckle as he tuned out the rest of that and made a quick prayer to Jesus that not only would they see victory on this day, but that everyone he had known, or come to know, would see the end of it. One amen later, Ken raised the Atom Bat over his head, gathering as much lightning from the clouds as the weapon could handle before directing it towards one of the cannons. The Bride of Roaring Skies would follow suite as the Atom Bat would then release a thick bolt of lightning at it, releasing a barrage of lightning from her mouth that split into multiple directions. All aforementioned bolts of lightning would make impact with many cannons below, obliterating them creating explosions that would knock several soldiers out of formation.

While Ken and the Bride of Roaring Skies continued their attack from above, the Bride of Endless Reach and the Bride of Rich Nights would be fighting other soldiers in close proximity, Endless Reach wielding sais, a katana, and a shield in four of her arms as Rich Nights used a pair of sharpened fans. The Bride of Endless Reach would shift between using her shield to block attacks before immediately cutting her opponents down to size with the katana, to using her sais to punch at them with her handles before stabbing them through the eye sockets with the longer prongs. Meanwhile, the Bride of Rich Nights would keep things simple, occasionally folding the fans for nonlethal attacks to their bodies, to gashing at them with her fans. Sometimes across the gut, other times across the throat. In desperate situations, like the one she was in currently with an enemy pinning her down and choking her, she would bring both fans together on either side of his neck, effectively decapitating him before smacking the head towards another opponent with a folded fan.

But the two would eventually find themselves forced in a back to back situation as more soldiers charged and threaten to overwhelm them. Luckily, the two weren't alien to the idea of fighting together, sharing a nod before flipping and quickly alternating sides as they dealt with charging wave after charging wave. As the numbers threatened to grow unbearable, the Bride of Endless Reach would grab the Bride of Rich Nights by the ankles and spin around with her while Rich Nights uses the shortened distance to slash through the oncoming wave. In this particular instance, Rich Nights would look back and notice more soldiers approaching from behind her comrade, pointing them out to Endless Reach as quickly as she could without risking dying in their current motion. In response, the Bride of Endless Reach would toss her behind herself, grabbing her ankles again as he free hands reached behind herself. From there, the Bride of Endless Reach would spin herself again, disorienting the new wave as they were killed by alternating attacks between Rich Nights and Endless Reach. The two would eventually separate from this motion, but still watch each others backs as they sliced through more oncoming waves.

The Bride of Endless Reach would eventually spot a much larger opponent, an Ox from the looks of it, charging towards them with his horns forward and a kanabo in one of his large hands. Rich Nights would be quick to notice after kicking a soldier into a nearby cannon blast, then meeting Endless Reach's gaze. Both Brides would then share a nod before Endless Reach got on a knee and raised her shield up. More soldiers were coming in so Rich Nights would act fast, rushing onto the shield before being tossed towards the Ox with a jump and added momentum. The Bride of Endless Reach would stand quickly, slashing through the opponent on her left, blocking attacks from soldiers on her right, disorienting one in front of her with a sai handle to the head and kicking the kneecap out from the soldier behind her. At the same time, the Bride of Endless Reach would stab through the eyes of the soldier in front of her and slash quickly through the rest while the Bride of Rich Nights would sever the large soldiers head in two with her fans.

In another area of the field, Emerad would be slicing through soldiers with her fans along with other Yagyu and Gossamer. For sure, the group was vastly outnumbered, even with the other Dragons taking care of the boats on the sea(thousands of soldiers were still a big deal after all), but Emerald remained optimistic. Even with all the soldiers rushing over, she had managed to keep up her current pace, even using the battlefield to her advantage. Having certain feminine charms exposed to the weaker minded ones definitely helped too. With how well she was doing, having killed about forty of them so far, she began to wonder if they all were. She began to worry for a moment that some of her allies might even get distracted. But this was war, she reasoned. A far bigger one than the one with the Yagyu Lord at that. Worries like that, if she were to make it out of this, would have to come later.

Unfortunately, Emerald found that her feminine charms might not help her for much longer as a Kamezon appeared to take notice of her progress. A particularly unflattering notice. Emerald couldn't help a small gulp in that moment as it turned in her direction and got on all fours, clearly preparing to charge towards her. Emerald would even convey a little terror in her terror as she gazed it back in the optics and got into a fighting stance with her now seemingly insignificant fans. How was she supposed to fight this thing!? She wasn't at all a stranger to the damage this thing was capable of. Heck, she still remembered how deep those cuts were on Ken's back after he saved the other Yagyu from one, and it was likely that he had only won that fight thanks to his own enhanced strength. While she was skilled in the arts of the Yagyu, and could probably kick the monkey's tail if she wanted to, she was still vastly ordinary in comparison to the titan of metal.

Still, as much as she wanted to, Emerald couldn't bring herself to run away. For one thing, it was dishonorable among the clans, even the Yagyu, to run from a fight. The possibility of losing one's life in combat was made more than clear to her on her first day training with them. For another, even if that wasn't the case, running away would only risk putting the other Yagyu in danger. With resources already thin, not to mention the fact that these people were practically family to her, Emerald couldn't bring herself to do that. She wouldn't do that. Death was an almost guarantee if she didn't run, but maybe it would give the others more time to get away or figure something out for dealing with this thing. But if these were her last moments, at least she would go out honorably. She was only sad that she wouldn't get to honor her promise to talk to Ken later.

The Kamezon would charge and Emerald would do her best not to move as it inched closer and extended its metallic claws for a fatal swipe. Fortunately for Emerald, the machines movements would come to a halt as another Kamezon would intercept its path, tackling it away and biting into its neck. Emerald would be confused as she watched the other Kamezon continue to attack and tear the wires and plating from the neck with its teeth. 'Did that thing just save me?' Considering their lack of organic parts, Emerald doubted it was trying to be territorial or claim a meal.

Emerald would only become more confused for a moment as the other Kamezon would turn to her, the optics purple as opposed to their regular red. Considering where she was, she wasn't sure if a change in optic color was a good sign. The thing could have just been malfunctioning. Either way, she was confused. And on edge with the claws still out.

Eventually, the large robot would respond with a female voice: "Are you unharmed?"

"Confused, but alright." Emerald admitted. "Are you one of the other Freedom Fighters?"

"Affirmative." The Kamezon responded. "My name is Nicole." Then tilting her head: "Are there not many AI's in the Dragon Kingdom?"

Emerald would immediately find herself relieved at the mention of the AI's name. It was another big one among the Knothole Freedom Fighters, after all. AI companion to Sally Acorn and their means of hacking and escape on multiple occasions. The AI in question would also later be revealed to be a transfer of consciousness from her childhood friend Nikky. Admittedly, Nicole's name wasn't a big one, not in comparison to Sally's at least, but still significant enough for people to have an idea about her. Emerald made a mental note to dedicate an hour of prayer to God later for this show of mercy.

"I don't think so." Emerald admitted, answering Nicole's question. "But thanks for the save."

"You're welcome!" Nicole responded, the purple irises of the Kamezon changing to upwards arrows.

Before Emerald could say or do anything more, a black and gold Metal Sonic would skid to a stop next to the Kamezon briefly, winking up at it as he complimented: "Yo, baby! Kicking the new threads there! I'm loving it!"

The Kamezon appeared to grow more excited as Shard zoomed past her and spindashed through several more Kamezons. "Shard! You're okay!"

"You ain't getting rid of me that easily, beautiful!"

While the transfer had definitely been difficult to manage, Shard had still managed to do so just fine. The harder part had been unplugging the wires in a rush without damaging them. Large and thick as they were, and far less fragile to Mobians, Shard's stronger grip could prove to be a bit of a problem. A problem that greatly annoyed Chuck back at the lab. Shard would often advise a shipment of Megatal to strengthen the cords, but Chuck adamantly refused. He claimed it was keep Shard steady, and give him the habit of thinking before he acted and exercising caution, but Shard had an underlying suspicion that Chuck just didn't want to spend the money.

Meanwhile, Ken and the Bride of Roaring Skies would continue doing their part from above the battlefield, both warriors attacking the thousands of cannons with as much lightning as the two could muster. With the rest of the Dragons still preoccupied with the approaching ships, the task was somewhat stressful. Even with the Monkey's new powers and the Dragons near unbelievable size, eight thousand cannons was still a lot to worry about. Ken only considered themselves blessed that many of the gunners were currently put off their game by the chaos around them. Also the occasional help from Gossamer and Yagyu below killing as many as they could from a distance. Otherwise he imagined they would both be sitting ducks for an onslaught of cannonballs.

But Ken would see that their troubles were far from over as he spotted Gong below, shouting orders at his gunners. No doubt to fire at the Bride of Roaring Skies while she was wide open. Orders that Ken decided would not come to fruition as he gathered more than enough lightning for his next action before pointing it down at Gong's surrounding forces. From the end of the Atom Bat, emerged a large bolt of collected lightning. Collected enough to link between all the cannons near to their leader and explode. The resulting explosion knocked Gong back several feet away from his army and into a crowd of Yagyu and Gossamer. An unintended destination on his part, knowing that they might not last long against the Gorilla. Especially not after their last fight. But Ken also knew he wouldn't be able to do much to stop them from at the very least attempting to weaken him. Ken could only pray in that moment that they wouldn't be killed before he finally got rid of the remaining cannons. Besides, Gong was his responsibility at this point. For the sake of Mobius, he had to be the one to defeat him.

Near the wall between the battlefield and the city of Mobotropolis stood Sally Acorn, combating as many soldiers and ninjas as she could with her wrist blades, and without killing them. On either side of the Squirrelmunk stood Tails, Rotor, Amy, Fiona, Bunnie, Antoine, Barby, and Espio. While the fight was certainly difficult, other members of Gossamer and Yagyu would do their best to cover the rest of the wall, so they could at least count themselves grateful that they weren't alone. No where near as outnumbered as they had been minutes prior. Sally only prayed that the circumstances wouldn't change yet again as she slashed through another soldiers axe and delivered a harsh kick to their face of, knocking them unconscious.

Upon noticing Bunnie, Sally would take a minute to call to her with a bit of a tease before slashing a Raiju's bo staff in two and uppercutting them below the chin: "I take it your search was successful!?"

Bunnie blasted at several soldiers frequently. "Yeah!" Bunnie caught a Shinobi by the wrist and pulled him low enough to shoot another charging soldier over his shoulder before knocking him out with a metallic elbow to the back of the head and tossing him at a crowd of more Shinobi, knocking them over. "Sorry for the mess." Bunnie apologized with a smile.

Sally would smile kindly back while slamming an enemy soldiers head into her knee and disarming a Raiju to stab her in the shoulder with her own weapon. "It's fine! Believe me, I'd do the same if it was my kids!"

Sally would next brace herself for two oncoming soldiers, fists and blades at the ready. Fortunately, Sally would only find herself worrying about one as Barby would attack the other from the side, kicking him across the face with a midair roundhouse kick. Meanwhile, Sally would duck under the other soldiers swing and kick her feet out from under her before delivering a harsh punch to her head. Both commanders would rise quickly as two more soldiers charged at them from either side. Sally and Barby would move back to back as the soldiers got closer, the one on Barby's end holding a long spear while Sally's bore a chain with a small metal ball at the end. Barby would duck to the side and punch at the metal tip of the spear just before it could touch Sally's back, then punching and cutting him across the cheek headfirst into a nearby rock. Meanwhile, Sally would slash quickly through the ball and each potion of chain that the soldier would swing at her before slashing off his helmet and jumping up to deliver a spinning back kick to his head, knocking him unconsciously onto his back.

Sally would take a moment to smirk back at Barby. "Thanks for the assist, Barb."

Barby would continue fighting, grabbing the fist of another soldier and flipping him over her shoulder. "Wasn't gonna settle for keeping your nephew out of harms way." Barby stomped on the downed soldiers head, knocking him unconscious. "You're welcome by the way." She added with a smirk.

Meanwhile, Rotor would continue shooting at incoming soldiers, Raiju, and Shinobi. Mainly with non-lethal shots. While everyone else certainly wasn't gonna promise not to kill anyone, as Sally's friends, they would try their best. A task that would have proved difficult if not for Bunnie's mixed martial arts skills and Rotor's armor. At that very moment, Bunnie would disarm a larger soldier of his broad ended mace and palm strike him into a kick from Rotor before swinging the larger weapon around with swift elegance. Meanwhile, Rotor would continue blasting at enemy soldiers as he grabbed the large soldier he had just injured and swung him at an approaching crowd of ninja's, knocking them several feet back. In the midst of the chaos, the two would also do their best to watch each others backs, firing at any incoming soldiers or ninjas that the other was unaware of.

Mina would do her best on the farther end of the battlefield to take out the crowd of soldiers in rapid succession, spindashing or simply running through them. She also found it helpful to do both on occasion, knocking several into the air at a time before spindashing them into other soldiers. At times, she would even smack them into the gunners to put a cannon out of commission from time to time. Mina also made a mental note to keep her eyes open to the sky for the mountain-sized Dragon that continued to destroy the cannons. On occasion, the explosions would create a mass of shrapnel that proved fatal to anyone around. Even to the point of slicing enemies to bits in some instances. The other Gossamer and Yagyu definitely had the right idea keeping their distance.

But Mina found that she couldn't maintain her position long as she took notice of a crowd of Kamezons approaching Sally and her group. Skilled as they all were in their own way, Mina knew they didn't all have the necessary strength or speed to keep from being diced by the things. Besides, she was confident Shard could keep things going for a little while. Especially with Nicole having taken control of one of the aforementioned Badniks. An advantage that Sally's group also didn't have so long as Fiona had no means of hacking into another.

Mina quickly changed course and blasted off towards the others near the wall, picking up as much speed as she possibly could to reach them in time. Meanwhile, other soldiers would take notice and do their best to deter her from her progress, firing arrows or tossing shurikens at her. Even with her speed, the task proved itself difficult. Though, admittedly, in that moment, it proved to be more like multitasking. Sure, Mina managed her own band and wrote her own songs after Ash's departure years ago, but that was singing. That and fighting one's way through a battlefield while also looking out for debris, arrows, and metal stars, were two very distinctly different things. Especially with the distance appearing to grow longer with each passing second, and the Kamezons getting closer. Though admittedly that could have just been her panicking.

"Hey, songoose!" Mina heard a familiar voice call to her.

Mina turned her head quickly and found, much to her relief, her husband spindashing several enemies away before unfolding and flying next to her with a smirk.

"Need a hand?!"

Mina would smirk back at the adult two-tailed fox. "You're offering that now? I thought Sonic sucked at being a gentleman!"

Tails expression went flat. "I was flying a plane!"

Mina's expression became one of pretend shock. "And you ditched me for your sidechick?!"

Tails groaned. "For the last time, I love you. Not my machines. Regardless, I have an idea. Take my hands!"

"Bit late for a dance, don't you think?!"

"Babe-!"

"Kidding!"

Mina took Tails hands almost immediately, the two picking up speed as they curled together into a single spinning ball. With more than enough speed at their disposal, the two would blast through the wave of Kamezons, smashing through each one in the blink of an eye. Every explosion must have gone off at once before the two unrolled and skid to a stop in the rain with Tails holding Mina in his arms. Unfortunately wet rain which caused them to skid uncontrollably into one of Amy's ditches. Luckily the aforementioned ditch didn't prove itself to be too big, the two landing with a splash in a small pond. Luckily with Tails under Mina. Much as he hated getting his tails soaked, Miles preferred it to be himself over his wife. Granted it didn't help much. Mina still got mud in her hair and boots, but he imagined she would have been frustrated if their positions were reversed.

Tails found himself surprised as he heard the sound of laughter from his wife, as opposed to the disgust she would normally feel in a situation like this. Heck, the girl once went ape-crap when Skye and Melody dragged mud into the house after wrestling in a mud-pit.

"What's so funny?" Tails asked with a confused smile.

"I'm sorry!" Mina apologized while barely able to contain her laughter. "The brown all over you makes me think of when you were little! It's so cute!"

Tails pouted. "I'm not cute! I'm serious and formidable!"

Mina smirked. "Sorry, babe. Melody might have gotten my looks, but Skye definitely got your cuteness."

Tails huffed. "Whatever."

"Dawww! Don't be like that!" Mina planted a kiss on his lips. "I like that you're cute."

Tails rolled his eyes. "Just don't call me kit. I get enough of that from mom and dad."

"Maybe later."

"STAP!"

"No." Mina said that last part sticking her tongue down at the fox.

Sonic would still be smashing through badniks as he heard a trail of explosions go off behind him. The hedgehog briefly unrolled while in midair, taking a look behind himself and spotting the massive Dragon Ken rode flying close to the ground to the ground, still using her lightning breath to destroy the cannons while also flapping her wings harshly enough to send crowds of soldiers flying several feet into the air with the resulting fall killing, if not severely injuring, them. Figuring that there was no better time than the present to greet his nephew, and admittedly wanting to get out of the Dragon's current destructive path, Sonic would zoom in the direction of the still airborne soldiers and spindash off of them. Sonic had to admit in hindsight that this wasn't the best idea. Heck, if Sally could see him now, she probably wouldn't let him hear the end of it. But Sonic was confident that he could make it in time before the Dragon could pass by below. At least Sonic hoped as he straightened his body and began his descent.

Ken, meanwhile, would still maintain his position atop of the Dragon's head as he continued to strike each cannon in their path and the Bride of Roaring Skies sent more soldiers into the air. A plan on Ken's part admittedly. Though their warriors were certainly skilled, Ken knew better than to assume that they could handle Gong's superior numbers for long. They still numbered in the thousands while his own army was still in the hundreds if not less. And as far as he could tell, the Acorn's Royal Militia was still in no position to help. 'At least not yet with Maximillian taking his sweet time.' Ken thought. Regardless, with the Bride of Roaring Skies supplying more than enough lightning to take care of the cannons, his own lightning seeming minuscule in comparison, Ken suggested that the Bride of Roaring Skies help even the odds with strong gusts of wind while he focused his attention on finding Gong and putting an end to this battle before it got too out of hand.

But that would have to be put on delay as the Monkey heard a series of loud thuds, turning quickly to spot a large number of Gong's soldiers landing on the Dragon's back. Some being impaled or severed on the Bride of Roaring Skies back spikes while others would land safely on her back, weapons at the ready. Ken made no waste of time rushing after them as they began attempting to hack their way through her scales to her skin. While the weapons didn't really appear to be doing much on that front, Ken wasn't about to risk them finding a weak scale or managing to break through with enough persistence.

"Roaring Skies! Our plan backfired!"

"YOUR PLAN!" The Dragon roared back.

"Regardless, I'll be back!" Ken called.

Ken charged quickly at the collection of soldiers, all still trying to get through the Bride of Roaring Skies' scales as he pressed one end of the Atom Bat into the ground in front of him and propelled himself towards them. The soldier at the front of the group would look up but didn't have enough time to react as Ken kicked him in the face with enough force to send him flying backwards, the back of his head hitting one of the back spines on the blunt side and causing him to collapse unconscious. The other soldiers would charge back with their weapons raised and at the ready. Ken would first attack the two at the front, one wielding a large hammer with a long red handle, and the other a spear, spinning his Atom Bat in a constant motion as they both made their attack. Ken would perform a sideways flip over the two as both of their weapons crossed paths where his midsection would have been seconds earlier, smacking the spear wielding soldier in the back of the head as he remained in the air. While the first soldier went flying ahead unconscious, Ken would land behind the hammer wielding soldier, sweeping his legs out from under him as he turned around. Ken would also act while the soldier was in his falling motion, smacking him across the face with the Atom Bat and sending him back against a back spine. Ken would turn his attention towards another small group of charging soldiers and grab the hammer from earlier before chucking it towards them like a spear, knocking several of the group off of the Bride of Roaring Skies back except for three. While one was still grounded, Ken would swing the Atom Bat as the soldiers crotch, causing him to pass out from the pain that followed. The second soldier would approach slowly and toss throwing stars at the monkey, nearly all of which would be deflected by Ken's spinning weapon, one leaving a gash across his cheek and the other landing in his shoulder. Ken let out a shout from that last impact, but quickly recovered as he yanked it from the wound and tossed it aside before barely smacking away a kunai blade with his Atom Bat before it could hit him in the face. Ken would be quicker still to yank at the rope and pull the soldier towards himself while the final soldier charged at him with a pair of nunchucks. Ken would react quickly to both, stretching and lowering his forearm to his side, which the first soldiers head would make immediate impact and collapse limply with a metallic thud, and catching the other end of one of the nunchucks in his other hand, head butting him with enough force to send him to the ground before he could make a move with the other one.

But even then, it appeared his work wasn't done as several more soldiers came running from farther down the Bride of Roaring Skies back, all just as armed as the opponents Ken had already faced before. But just as Ken was ready to face them down, least as many as he could without any use of lightning(he didn't want to risk hurting the Bride), a blue blur would zip around the large crowd, spindashing each in the head and knocking them down or off before unrolling and skidding to a halt next to the monkey with a smirk.

"Need a hand, neph?" Sonic asked.

Ken's response would be to smile in relief and say: "You literally could not have come at a better time."

Sonic kept his smug grin as he shrugged as if to say "whatever". "It's kinda my thing."

Ken would roll his eyes at his blue-spiked uncle before charging with him against the remaining fifteen soldiers. Ken would smack his staff against another bo staff of silver metal, shattering it in two before the Monkey elbowed the soldier hard in the face, knocking him back into a smaller crowd that would topple over from the force of the impact. Meanwhile, Sonic would swiftly dodge the swing of a battle axe spindash him in the crotch, knocking him into the air. Sonic would then spindash into the air and perform a homing attack on the midair soldier, knocking him into four other soldiers who fell off the Dragon. Ken would next propel himself in the air with his Atom Bat, jumping off the shoulder of the soldier in front of him before slamming the staff against his back and knocking him into a spindash from Sonic while swinging his Atom Bat in the direction of the rest of the soldiers, releasing a strong gust of air towards them that knocked the remaining nine far enough away for something new he had in mind. Acting fast, Ken crafted a dark, almost blueish, cloud and flipped it upside down as baseball sized spheres of ice emerged at a violent pace. Immediately realizing what Ken was doing, Sonic would once again propel himself into the air and bash quickly into each ball that emerged from the top of the cloud, propelling them at speeds to fast for the soldiers to react as they were either knocked off or down for the count. Once there were about four soldiers left, each blocking the barrage of hail with their shields, Ken would disperse the icy cloud and spread it out around them, effectively blocking their field of vision. Ken would be the first to charge inside, visualizing where each soldier had been prior to the smokescreen as his tail stretched ahead and wrapped it around the ankle of the soldier in front of him. As Ken yanked at the ankle in question, the guard would fall backwards with his arms stretched out, leaving him defenseless as the Monkey began spinning the Atom Bat. Ken kept the weapon in a constant motion as he first swung under the chin of the falling soldier, taking him out as he then jumped over the guard behind him, their shield still up as Ken struck the back of his head, then the face of the third soldier who charged at him from his right with a shield prepped for attack.

As the three soldiers fell unconscious, Ken would look around for the final guard who, in that moment, would bash him in the back with his shield, launching the Monkey towards the edge. Ken would make attempts to stop the skid with his feet, only for those efforts to fall flat as the melting ice across the scales only caused him to slide. Thinking fast in his mid panic, Ken would just barley stop himself from reaching the ledge as he used the Atom Bat to freeze the water back and plunge both halves of the Atom Bat into it, finally causing him to stop, though not without a small slip.

Ken would immediately find himself surprised as he gazed at the two halves of the Atom Bat in his hands, separated at two perfectly equal lengths. He wasn't quite sure whether he broke the weapon or if this was simply something it did.

The Monkey decided to save the question, preferably for Relic, for later as the final guard came charging towards him, sword and shield both at the ready. On impulse, Ken stretched both halves towards the ice, striking it with two beams of lightning and causing shards to fly into the air, distracting the soldier with the resulting ice and mist. Ken charged immediately with both halves, parrying the soldiers attacks and striking him rapidly with both lightning-fueled golden sticks. Each movement on Ken's end would only grow stronger and faster, the soldier nearly unable to keep up as his shield began to dent and the blade of his sword would crack. The shock of both would leave him unprepared as Ken would place both halves back together and strike him harshly in the body, sending him flying back against one the Bride of Roaring Skies' back spikes.

Sonic himself would be surprised as he ran through the remaining fog from earlier, the remaining soldier flying past him and against the blunt end of the back spine, followed immediately after by Ken who dashed towards him on a cloud, a large collection of water covering his left arm while he held the Atom Bat in the right. Sure, he knew the kid was skilled. Bunnie had said as much herself. Still, considering how long he had babysat for him, and how shy he had seen him be around crowds, as well as lacking in a confrontational attitude, the hedgehog would have been lying if he said this was within his area of expectations. Especially with Antoine being his father, whom he most likely got that from. Nothing against him. He just didn't seem like the type to be this capable at first glance. But again, he had babysat for him for most of his life, so he was thinking from a biased point of view there. Ken was practically in his own league here! Sonic couldn't help but be proud though. Whatever happened in the Dragon Kingdom, the Monkey definitely came a long way from where he was.

Ken struck the soldier with the water as he flew closer, jumping and flipping off of the cloud to slam his Atom Bat against the blade of the soldier's sword, shattering the blade into a small jagged edge. The soldier attempted a series of quick and vicious swings with the small blade and cracked shield. Ken would wait for the perfect opening to smack the shield again with his Atom Bat, cracking the surface further as he would block the soldiers arm in midswing with his own forearm. Ken would toss the Atom Bat high into the air, using the now empty hand to strike the soldier, harshly in the wrist, effectively disarming him and sending the weapon over the edge. Ken would then call the staff back into his hand, the weapon smacking the soldier across the back and nearly knocking him over on its way over. From there, the soldier made desperate efforts to smack, or hit him with the shield, a method that not only failed as the monkey dodged quickly and instinctively, but would swing the Atom Bat across the shield for a final time, shattering it into pieces and disarming the soldier. Finally, in a swift movement, Ken would smack the soldier across the cheek with his weapon, using enough force to knock him flat onto the ground.

with no more enemies to face, the Monkey would turn back towards the blue Hedgehog, Sonic now bearing an impresses smirk as he called: "Past cool stick, little dude! Where'd you find it?!"

Ken chuckled. "Long story, but I'm more than happy to share it with you later! Considering the um..." Ken smiled a bit nervously as he pointed down to the ongoing battle beneath them.

Sonic slumped a little but shrugged. "Fair enough."

Ken and Sonic both rushed back up towards the Dragons head as Ken gazed worriedly back at his uncle. "How was everyone else doing before you got here?!"

"Sal and the others are still busting heads at the wall!" Sonic explained. "Thanks to your backup, we might have a better shot at King Kong's goons!"

Ken smiled back at him as he jumped up towards the Bride of Roaring Skies' head, having reached the halfway point of her neck before then. "Happy to help!"

"On the topic of helping, I got a quick question! There's quite a lot of folks down there since you got back, so who am I not allowed to bash?"

"If they're not a Koala, Lion, Espio, Bat, or Spider, they're bad!"

Sonic would go silent for a moment, blinking rapidly before tilting his head and raising an eyebrow as he called: "WHAT?!"

"I said-!"

"Just messin with you, Ken." Sonic said with a smirk, crossing his arms and flipping backwards off of the Dragon towards the battlefield below.

Meanwhile, Amy would be swinging her hammer around rapidly, doing her best to stay balanced and on her feet as she began to feel a little dizzy. While her adrenaline rush was still very much in play, she couldn't deny that she had lost quite a bit of blood, and it would only become more noticeable to her with every group of soldiers and ninjas that she smacked away. But she wouldn't give up. Not yet. Not while there was still a battle to fight. Certainly not with the world once again at stake. She hadn't been able to do much until well late into the Robotnik war. She hadn't even learned to lift a hammer back then. But even back then, she was strong enough to do so, and more. Since that day Julie-Su had agreed to train her, Amy never looked back on an opportunity to help out. She definitely wasn't about to change that now. Plus, maybe it would get Sonic's attention once his life spent with Sally had come to an end. Preferably with Sally dying of old age. As much as she wanted Sonic, she still wanted him to be happy. Even if it meant she couldn't have him yet. Next to that, Sally was her friend. One who encouraged her and fought for her freedom the literal second that she could. She kinda owed it to both of them.

But by God's grace, right as Amy was ready to collapse, that very friend came to her rescue, kicking away at soldiers and slashing through their weapons in rapid succession. While she wasn't as strong as Amy, the pink Hedgehog doubted any woman was, Sally still had her swiftness and her strategic mind to use to her advantage. With each swing, a slash, for each swing, a duck and kick. Sally even proved herself to still be as athletic as she had been fourteen years prior, dashing and jumping over weapon swings to continue fighting. The Squirrelmunk only continued to dodge and attack, sometimes waiting for her enemies to grow tired before putting them out of commission. Amy couldn't help being impressed.

"Get out of here!" Sally ordered. "I'll cover you!"

Amy would collapse next to the princess after a fatal swing towards the remaining soldiers, sending them flying across the sky. "And let you have all the fun? Fat chance." Amy replied with a weak smirk.

Though Sally smiled, she would release a groan as she wrapped her arm over her shoulders and made a run for the gates, looking at the others as she shouted: "Keep up the offense! Amy needs medical attention!"

Antoine would nod as he clashed blades with a nearby soldier. "Of course, mi princess!"

Antoine would act quickly with his cutlass, pushing the soldier back and slashing him across both shins, causing him to collapse in pain before the Coyote turned his attention to his right, finding a large Bull charging at him with an axe. Antoine would wait for the swing before ducking and swinging his blade at his opponent's horns, causing him to collapse headfirst into a roll, unconscious. Next, Antoine would turn his attention to the sound of running footsteps, spotting another soldier making a charge towards him with his shield stretched out. Antoine would dodge the shield ram with ease, dashing over the soldier and mustering as much strength as he could as he swung across the soldiers back. The blade proved to be stronger than the armor, slashing through his opponents back at an upwards angle who would shout in pain before collapsing while Antoine would land on his feet.

Antoine would next spot a small blade fly towards him on a chain, deflecting it with his cutlass before turning to face the attacking Shinobi in green. The aforementioned Chameleon would yank the blade back into his palm as he continued to charge towards the Coyote whom approached slowly. The Chameleon would attempt fatal swings with the blade, only for Antoine to parry or dodge just as quick. With swinging at close range proving to be ineffective, the Shinobni would next back away a short distance before swinging the blade and chain. Antoine would duck when it came vertically, then rolling to the side when it came down horizontally. The Chameleon would yank the chain back and attempt another downwards swing, Antoine rolling ahead and past the Shinobi. Antoine would stand quickly and swing his blade at the turning warrior, gashing him across the cheek.

Before Antoine could attempt another swing, the Chameleon would turn himself invisible. Though the circumstances appeared to no longer be in his favor, the Coyote refrained from panicking. Had this been years ago, he likely would have. Even more so had it not been for Bunnie accepting his request to train him as best as she could. The Coyote genuinely doubted he would have survived the war if not for that. The more he thought about it, it was actually kind of shocking that he survived before then. But Antone would push that from his mind as he gazed around carefully, playing close attention to his surroundings as he had been instructed in years past, looking for any signs or irregularities that might have tipped him off. Almost immediately, he would notice how the droplets of rain would fall on a familiar shape, hidden if not for that. Along with that, he would hear the chain of the weapon being spun and prepped for what would have otherwise been a fatal swing. But this Chameleon would find no luck as he swung at Antoine's head, the Coyote quickly ducking and raising his blade so that it would wrap around it. In one quick motion, Antoine would then yank at the chain and outstretch a palm, his opponent flying towards him, his face hitting the palm hard enough that he would immediately collapse unconscious.

Nearby, Espio would spot the Coyote's display of courage and skill and smile a bit, visibly impressed before he turned his attention back to the other soldiers and Shinobi that surrounded him. Espio would swing his own kunai around over his head, attached to a string as it slashed, gashed, and decapitated several of the soldiers around him. The other Shinobi would be smarter, rolling under the blade and charging in a crouched position. This move would only prove to be fatal to Espio's enemies as he quickly yanked the blade back and sliced a Shinobi across the neck as he reached him. To the next two enemies, he would slash them across the legs, making them immobile as a final Shinobi reached him, swinging his own blade at him. Espio would duck away and parry as best as he could, the opponent proving to be just as fast as he was. Just as skilled as well as the two would plunge a fist against the wrist of which the other hand their weapons. Knowing better than to underestimate this person, Espio would be quick to grab the enemy kunai, catching him off guard as he slashed him across the face and body, effectively killing him.

Though these killings would not go without remorse as Espio would rest the weapon over his opponents chest and gaze in mourning at his fallen enemies. Enemies who had once been like brothers and sisters to him. All raised with him into warriors by the Bride of Constant Vigil. If Espio had paid closer attention, he was sure he might have recognized several. But unlike them, he had seen more of the world, and had helped fight the war against Robotnik while keeping tabs on everyone for the Bride. When Gong had slaughtered Lau Khan and asked that the Shinobi follow him, he knew what was at stake. He and a select few did, in fact. But he was among the few to survive such a betrayal, and he was certain that his mother didn't look too fondly at him after that. She only did it to protect her clan, after all. Far as she was concerned, Espio's act may as well have been one of dishonor. But Espio decided he would deal with that later and he tossed a throwing star at the soldier charging from the side, downing him immediately before going on to fight other opponents.

---

Relic would do her best in the tall cavern she had been dropped off in to record the events unfolding before her in a small, leather bound journal. A position she only grew more and more grateful for as she observed the gory details. She was a historian and aspiring archeologist after all, not a fighter. At least not in terms of physical confrontations. If it came to history debates, then all she would say was bring it! She had already ridiculed a teacher once for getting details wrong in regards to the third World War between Mobians and Overlanders, mainly in what started it(Overlanders looking to start the war over racially discriminatory ideals by killing a Mobian and Overlander Prince by the way, meanwhile the teacher had claimed that the two tried to kill each other. The two were friends! Relic couldn't just let a lie like that be told and risk poisoning the minds of the youth!). She wasn't about to back down to a fellow student.

Still, Relic couldn't help being a little jealous. All of her friends were partaking and making their names known in a battle that would go down in history as a literal battle to save the world. Meanwhile, Relic was stuck standing on the sidelines. Sure, she was being plenty helpful in terms of documentation, but what was she actually doing in terms of progress? She didn't know how to fight for one thing. While she had read a lot about various fighting styles, she doubted that would help much. Reading about fighting styles mattered very little when compared to actually fighting. For another, she doubted she even could given he size. Sure, Ken was about to square up against a Gorilla twice his size, but the Monkey was already well prepared. And fearless. Relic was more likely to get run over down there than to actually beat anyone.

Relic's eyes would widen fearfully as she heard the sound of conversation. Getting closer from what she could tell. A bit too close for comfort. Luckily she was in a carved doorway, so she wasn't in the line of sight of anyone who had just found their way up there. Still, it didn't make her feel any less unnerved considering it could have been a variety of foes. Soldiers, Shinobi, maybe even a Raiju if she was unlucky enough. In any case, she wouldn't last long if any of them found her up here alone. Worse, she might be used as a hostage for ransom. The ransom being that they left Gong to his invasion. Helpless as she already was, Relic wasn't planning on adding damsel in distress to the list.

Still, Relic thought it might be best to be sure as she peeked her head slightly out from inside the doorway, trying her best not to peek out too much so as to remain hidden. Much to the Pika's horror, there would indeed be a pair of soldiers approaching the entrance. Both men would be armed with spears. Aged and unkempt ones from what she could tell. The wood was a dark shade of brown with spots of black mold, as opposed to the newer ones being a polished light brown, and the spear tips wobbled and rattled with each footstep. Someone like Ken would be guaranteed to finish these two in a fight in mere seconds. Least she thought after what she had seen on the bus when this whole thing started. But a small untrained Pika? One who had only studied the ancient art of karate in training scrolls? Advantage: unkempt soldiers.

Relic would almost immediately back away and run as quietly as possible into the awaiting caverns. Relic sure as Dark Gaia didn't know her way around this place, but she did know that she'd be much safer. At least she hoped so. Relic would begin to desperately pray in that moment that there were no bugs in this cave. Especially before taking a flashlight from her bag and pointed it ahead. With everything that was already going on around her, a nasty collection of mosquito bites was the last thing she needed.

Once the girl was confident she had gotten far enough away, and with her tiny lungs already running out of breath, Relic would then dig her phone from the pocket of her jacket and speed dial Ken's number before pushing it against her ear and waiting for him to answer. Much to her relief, it only took two rings for him to answer.

"Not trying to sound rude, but is this important?!" Ken asked with a bit of a grunt.

"Some of Gong's soldiers are about to find me!" Relic panted. "So yeah! Kind of!"

"Alright, I'm on my way! And if they get to you before I do, get to the end of the cave and pull the lever!"

Relic would blink for a moment in confusion. "What-?"

"There's an old trap set up there somewhere! My mom told me about it when we were on our way back! Just wait there and try not make any noise, okay?"

Before the Pika had a moment to respond, Relic would feel her foot hit a large rock. The impact would cause both Relic and the rock to tumble forward across the ground. Relic would cringe as he body slammed painfully against the ground, mentally reprimanding herself for not paying attention while talking on her phone. The Pika would only feel worse after she heard the rock clatter across the ground at a cringeworthily loud volume. Only furthering the severity of her condition, she would hear one of the soldiers shout after her.

"HEY YOU! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"TOO LATE!" Relic screamed into the phone. "HURRY UP!"

Relic would then hang up and grab her flashlight before dashing off deeper into the cave, doing her best to ignore her aching lungs. To be honest, it was the only reason why she wasn't running any faster with the two soldiers likely gaining on her. A theory that proved to be more probable by the minute as the footsteps grew louder. And closer. 'Ken, where are you?!' She mentally scolded. 'You are LITERALLY on a CLOUD! Those things move about as fast as Sonic!'

Reic would release a yelp as she saw one of the spears fly past her head, clanking and tilting of FB of the ground as she rushed past it. Relic would then turn around to take a quick glance behind herself. Luckily, they weren't quite as close as she thought. But they were gaining on her. And they were gaining fast. Figuring that turning around probably hadn't done her any favors, Relic would turn herself back ahead and continue running.

Meanwhile, her eyes scanned the entire cavern, desperately searching for that lever that Ken had mentioned. She also had to search carefully. She considered herself fortunate enough to have brought an LED flashlight, but it was still dark in there. A single source of light, a narrowly focused one at that, could only reveal so much. 'How did anyone manage to set up a trap here in the first place?!' She wondered in her current panic. Sure, the freedom fighters would have had a fire to work with, but even that would have yielded problems. Everyone would have had to keep a considerable distance if they didn't want their shadows getting in the way. And what was their solution for a strong draft?!

After what felt like forever praying and running for her life, the Pika would finally spot the aforementioned lever planted into the wall to the left just up ahead. In that same moment, she would feel relief and a temptation to jump for joy at her newfound means of defense. But that joy would also fade just as soon as it had come as she noticed a potentially fatal flaw in Ken's suggested "trap". The lever was placed at average height. Average height! The Pika would have half a mind to pummel the stupid Monkey if he was in close proximity! Did he plan this knowing that she wouldn't be able to reach it! Did he try to give her false hope?! 'Either way, SCREW YOU KEN!' She thought.

But at this rate, Relic couldn't afford to give up now. Not with her destination so close and the soldiers practically breathing down her neck. All she had to do was pick up the pace as best as she could once she was barely underneath the lever. At least Relic came to that conclusion once she had spotted a large rock, nearly half her size, just beneath it. With enough build up and more effort to add on top of it, she figured that she should be able to jump off of the rock and grab onto the lever, her weight hopefully doing the rest.

And Relic would do just that, running past her limit as best as she could and simultaneously managing to avoid getting grabbed by one of the soldiers. Relic wouldn't waste a second as she reached the rock, planting her left foot over it and propelling herself towards the lever. The plan almost worked too well, the Pika reaching a height where the lever would be just barely under her midsection. If Relic had to blame that near blunder on anything, it would be her animal-based heritage, the Pika's being a distant cousin of the species of Rabbit. Regardless, Relic would correct the error just in time, grabbing onto the lever and allowing the lower part of her body to swing with the remaining inertia, releasing the lever as it came down with a loud click!

The immediate result would be a sickening crunch as a massive boulder of concrete collapsed from the ceiling, making impact with both unsuspecting soldiers before rolling back out the long cavern. Despite the glaringly obvious goal of the soldiers moments prior, Relic still couldn't help being in shock as she had turned around right as the boulder had fallen on top of them, her eyes wide and her ears raised. Lucky, the Pika wouldn't have gazed at the resulting carnage for too long, pointing the light away from the dead soldiers. Relic would, however, begin to turn green as she heard the screams of more soldiers ahead, each followed by another crunch. The shock had been so much that she almost didn't hear her phone ringing. Once she did, she would scramble to find it, grateful for the distraction. Eventually yanking it from her pocket, the girl would press the answer call button and place the phone against her ear.

"H-hello?"

"RELIC!" She heard Ken shout into the phone. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Relic answered. "Actually got to the lever so it's taken care of. No need to come over now." Relic said that last part with an extremely nervous chuckle.

"Are you sure? I'm right outside the cave."

Relic shook her head vigorously. "N-nope! I'm A-A okay!... bud."

Ken's end of the call would be dead silent for a moment, causing the cringe factor of her "bud" comment to really sink in for the poor Pika who would then facepalm.

"Okay, but I'm sending somebody over. " Ken finally answered. "Just in case somebody else manages to find their way up there. Talk later... bud?"

Relic groaned. "Sure."

Ken chuckled. "Alright. I'm gonna go blow up more cannons. Keep a book handy and- wait is that a boulder?"

Relic's eyes immediately widened as she began to panic again. "KEN, MOVE!"

At that, she heard the Chimp chuckle. "Just kidding. I saw it pass by a couple seconds ago."

Relic's expression went flat as she took out one of her books and headed for the exit. Intent on throwing it at him if he was still there by the time she reached it. "Very funny.

---

Fiona would be looking over her shoulder and kicking at soldiers and ninjas in midair as she held her orange pad tightly, doing her best to control yet another Kamezon in the chaos. A process that proved particularly aggravating for the red Vixen. Due to the large crowds of soldiers, occasional cannon blasts, and even Sonic destroying them due to a lack of attention, Fiona would end up needing to hack into another one every couple minutes. With the aforementioned(at least the first two) reasons, Fiona had to reason that Gong was well aware of her and Nicole's tactics behind enemy lines. That and the fact that larger groups of enemy soldiers were now making their efforts to attack her specifically. Sally and the others would be available to help from time to time, but they had their own crowds of soldiers to deal with.

As she would flip one of the enemy soldiers over her shoulder and slam them headfirst into the ground and kick another into the large crack Amy had made earlier, Fiona would take notice of some of the Raiju and Shinobi rushing into another direction. Noticeably away from the freedom fighters. 'What's the big deal there?' Fiona pondered. Had Gong's prior attack with the cannons caused them to change their allegiance? Without a doubt, that many raining cannonballs would have maimed or injured several of them. Maybe even one of the Brides? A closer glance at one of the retreating ninjas seemed to confirm her theory. They looked sad. But more so angry.

But Fiona would focus her attention back to her pad and surroundings for now. Though Ken and his reinforcements were a big help, they were still outnumbered at about a million to one. Standing around and watching people definitely wasn't the best idea right now.

Fiona would nearly jump in victory as she managed to hack into another Kamezon, using it to slash through or injure the surrounding soldiers as she continued fighting as best as she could in her own right. But as priorly mentioned, there were still many many soldiers. Almost too many for Fiona to properly focus on controlling the machine. This distraction would also prove to be a downfall as a cannon would aim and fire at the Kamezon right as Fiona was in the middle of smacking another soldier unconscious with her data-pad. Fiona's jaw would drop as she witnessed the destruction of yet another machine under her control, then pouting and stomping a foot as she took her anger out on all approaching enemies and started back from square one.

Fortunately for the group, their blessings had not run out just yet. At the far back of the army, a dragon would swoop down and drop Li Yuen a safe distance onto the ground below. Immediately, several soldiers would notice and begin charging towards the elderly Lion. But he was ready, taking a deep inhale as they grew closer and closer. Li Yuen would then hold it, waiting for the army to get close enough before bellowing in a roar so loud and so powerful that thousands were immediately sent airborne, some even landing in the still burning fence of destroyed ships, or crushed from the mere force of it. The action would immediately gain attention from more soldiers as Li Yuen charged deeper into the armada and would repeat this roar. Again and again as the numbers of soldier began to dwindle at a frightening pace. Some would even begin to run for their lives as the roars would make their way up and over the hill, knocking over cannons and crushing soldiers and Kamezons beneath.

At this, Barby, Sally, and many other soldiers and freedom fighters could only stare in shock.

"Why hasn't he done that before?!" Barby wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Gong would observe from amidst his army, noticing as thousands upon thousands of soldiers became irrelevant compared to the might of their false king and his army. That Lion's roar was speeding up progress and, considering Gong could only see one dragon attacking on the battlefield, he could only guess that the rest were attacking his fleet of ships. A task that surely wouldn't take much longer. After that, Gomg was certain that the rest would make their way to the battle and finish this fight in mere seconds. Much as the Gorilla hated to admit it, he had greatly underestimated his nephew. And because of that, the very goals he had set out to accomplish for all of his adult life was about to be uprooted. A humiliating defeat to be sure.

But the battle wasn't over yet, Gong decided, as he would also take notice of the Squirrelmunk continuing to do battle with what little amount of men remained near the wall. While his forces continued to dwindle, there was still the matter of the Royal bloodline of Mobotropolis to tend to. With all of them dead at his feet, Gong would have a new army user his heel. More soldiers to dispose at Ken and his friends as a distraction to reclaim his throne. Then both thrones would be his. The army of Dragons would be his. The world would be his. But with the coincidence of an opportunity now open to him, Gong would charge in her direction, swinging his bladed mace around to remove every obstacle from his path, whether it be a hacked Kamezon, a Gossamer, a Yagyu, or any of his own men.

Dulcy would be the first to notice this as she struck several more cannons with lightning, turning her head in Gong's direction as she called to Ken: "Look!"

Ken would cease his own attacks of lightning as he turned to look at what Dulcy had spotted. He immediately became frightened for the Princess's safety as he noticed Gong viciously making his way towards the Mobotropolis Freedom Fighters. Sure, Sally was a great fighter, his mother and father could both attest to that, but the Monkey knew from experience that skill alone wouldn't be enough to take him down. Gong was stubborn, determined, insanely strong, and skilled in his own right. He suspected Sally would last a couple minutes at most with the distractions surrounding her.

"Tend to the rest of the Cannons!" Ken ordered, summoning a cloud with the Atom Bat to step onto. "It's time to end this."

Gong would continue to slash and smash his way through soldiers, getting closer and closer to the fighting Princess. At this point, he was close enough to smell her sweat over the blood of his vanquished obstacles. Just a couple more feet and Gong would be prepped and ready to make a final and fatal swing. Finally, as Gong was the appropriate distance away, he would raise his mace over his head, her back turned as he prepared to swing.

"GONG!"

The Gorilla would turn just as he was smacked in the face with the Atom Bat, the impact strong enough to knock him several feet away. Gong would come to a less than pleasant stop in a pool of mud after bouncing off of a couple grass hills with enough force to knock dirt into the air. The Gladiator King's face ached and his sight blurred, but he persisted through it, rising to his feet with a growl. It was a cheap shot where he was concerned, though it certainly made the boy far more interesting of an opponent. Still, he would allow his offenses to stand for no longer. Now, he planned on repaying these acts of anarchy and his refusal to stay out of his way or die honorably, with his own brutality. He had beaten both of his parents already. Both pairs, in fact. The monkey would fair no different. Even if he had to use his bare hands on account of his disarmed Mace.

A couple seconds later, Gong would notice as the warriors and Brides from all four clans would surround him, closing him off from the rest of the battlefield in a wide circle. Each warrior and Bride would also be armed with a variety of weapons. Gong was almost certain that they wielded weapons in all Chinese variety. But what amused Gong the most were the expressions they bore. All of which varied in different levels of anger and a desire for vengeance. No doubt for the brothers and sisters he slaughtered earlier in the attack on the Tornado moments earlier.

But Gong wasn't threatened. The Gorilla would only chuckle at the sight, finding it more adorable than he did amusing that these warriors all thought they stood a chance against them. After all, two of the clans, not counting the Dragons, had avoided the Freedom Fighters conflict with him entirely, while the other two surrendered. The Raiju out of admiration for his show of strength, and the Shinobi out of self preservation. Making the matter all the more hilarious to the Gladiator King was the idea that these people actually believed in the boy. While admittedly a warrior, the prince had been away for a little over a decade. Not to mention the fact that he lost his first fight against the Gorilla. What hope could he possibly bring these people after that.

Finally, Gong would turn his attention to the aforementioned Monkey who landed several feet across from him, carrying both the Atom Bat and his mace. Moments after, many of the Freedom Fighters and soldiers would gather around the circle. Not to break through in defense of either person, but to watch the outcome. As Gong and Ken both met each other's gaze, both could see the determination of the other. Matched in scale and intensity. Ken would only keep his gaze as he tossed the mace over to his opponent, the weapon landing at Gong's feet as one of the blades embedded itself into the ground. Gong chuckled at the gesture, but wouldn't wait a moment to grab it and continue to keep his eyes on the boys as the two circled each other, both prepared for their final battle.

---

Sorry for a longer wait than expected. Not only did life get really busy, but this chapter took a lot of time to make between working and other things. Regardless, it was definitely fun to write. What did you all think about it? Please feel free to tell me in the form of a review, and follow the story to get updates on the next chapter and to support the story. I thank you all very much for reading, and may the Lord Jesus Christ, bless, protect, and watch over you all with happiness, good tidings, and that you would all come to know and love Him as your Lord and Savior if you haven't already. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.