Chapter 8: Big Bang (ビッグバン; Bigguban)
Note:
text – place and time designations, noise effects, words on the computer screens
text – reading, emotion reading, thoughts, parallel events
The Japanese power plant was in a small town called Dosu. This small power plant employed 1,765 people, which also included young people as young as 24 years old.
The power plant workers were working quietly until they noticed something falling from the sky.
"Something is falling on us!" exclaimed one blond-haired worker, pointing his finger upward.
Soon the sticks fell and formed a fence. People found themselves in a big circle. The sticks that surrounded them were the color of candy canes with hooks.
"What kind of fence is this?" asked another power plant worker.
"Tsk...!" the third worker with short curly hair tsked irritably. "Who put it here..."
As soon as this worker touched one of these sticks, he felt a very strong electric shock. The man fell to the ground, losing consciousness. Two employees approached him and tried to help him.
"I'm so excited~" suddenly a voice came from the sky.
Soon a round scenic platform with a figure in the center fell in the middle of the circle formed by the fence. The light from the stage lights came on and illuminated that figure.
It was a reploid whose appearance was modeled after an electric catfish. It had a long and bulky body that matched its head, which resembled that of a catfish. It has a gaping mouth with protruding lips and whiskers along the edges. It also has a wide tail, webbed toes, and two electric dynamos on its back.
"«The Superconductivity Smile», Volt Catfish is at your service!" The reploid catfish said to the frightened crowd of people before he added. "Everything is becoming so exciting~."
People were whispering anxiously and worriedly to each other, as they had no idea what the hell was going on here.
"Oh, it seems that energy is being destroyed here. We need to stop here," Volt Catfish said in a rather ominous and cheerful tone.
"What "destruction of energy" are you talking about here, damn it?!" exclaimed one of the power plant workers, not finding meaning in the reploid's delusional words.
Volt Catfish continued:
"Okay, that's it! Let's get our party started!"
As soon as he said this, he began to sing, while his body began to overflow with electricity.
"When the squid was eaten... It made the dog's heart say "badamb" "badamb"... The cat jumped out very surprised~~~"
The robot sang the purchase and a very large charge of energy gathered in its body. Soon the power plant was blown up by electrical force.
"...Those workers who were not at work were shocked by what happened to the rest of the workers at the Dosu power plant. Police and Maverick Hunters say that a maverick who can control electricity may have been responsible for the explosion at the power plant and the killings of the people in it."
"Disturbing," Tails said as soon as he finished reading the newspaper out loud to Sonic, who was looking at the article where it was written about Volt Catfish's attack on the Japanese power plant.
They were in the wasteland, where there was a road and a store nearby, where our heroes bought three barrels of gasoline for the plane and a newspaper, which Tails read out loud. They had just filled the Tornado II tank before sitting down to read the article.
"Judging by this article, the guy who is responsible for the explosion at the power plant is a pretty serious maniac," Sonic commented. "Who knows how many problems he can create, especially if he knows how to control electricity."
"I feel pretty bad about this story..." Tails said, imagining what happened to the people at the power plant before a thought came into his head. "It will be even worse if this maverick gets his hands on the chaos emerald."
"Then there will be an apocalypse in the futuristic style," Sonic joked.
Tails looked at Sonic with an unimpressed look, as if saying: "Sonic, this is serious!"
"I'm just kidding, Tails," Sonic explained, feeling a little awkward.
"Sonic, this isn't even funny," Tails scolded his friend a little and an anime-style drop fell over the fox's head.
"Okay, I won't make any more jokes about the "apocalypse" and this situation," Sonic said before he asked his friend. "Tails, you said earlier that you discovered where the chaos emerald is?"
"I discovered that the next Chaos Emerald is located in the city of Haryan, which is famous for the largest power plant in the world," Tails answered. "If this electronic reploid uses the chaos emerald, he will immediately lose control, and everything will turn into a disaster. We must not let this happen. This is not only for the safety of others - it is the key to our return home."
"I understand you, Tails," agreed the hedgehog, who had already begun to take the situation more seriously, to the joy of the little fox. "We'll fly there right away. If possible, we can meet X and Zero there."
"By the way, how are they doing?" asked the little fox, remembering the two reploids.
In the other place…
"Is that the reason you gave me the rubber cover when you were fixing me?" asked X, who was wearing a gray rubber cover.
"Yes," Dr. Cain answered affirmatively. "I specifically gave you this rubber cover to protect you from the enemy's electric current."
"But even with such protection, it's somehow difficult and even awkward for me," X admitted honestly.
"Don't worry, X," Doctor Cain told him, "I made this fabric thin to make it easier for you to move. But there is one "but": this rubber cover will not allow you to use your special weapons. You can only use your blaster."
"This is normal for me," X said.
"Well, okay," said the old scientist.
"What about me?" asked Zero.
"Sorry, I couldn't make another one," said Doctor Cain. "There was no time."
"So I…" Zero began, but Dr. Cain said:
"No, Zero. But you can still evacuate residents if they are held hostage. With your fighting techniques, you can save many lives from your enemies."
"Well, okay then," Zero said and headed towards the exit. "Let's go, X!"
"Zero, wait for me!" X exclaimed and, quickly following his friend, turned to Dr. Cain. "We'll be there soon, Dr. Cain! Be careful!"
"Be careful, X and Zero!" Dr. Cain told them and both reploids had already disappeared from his sight.
The elderly scientist's face showed concern for the safety of X and Zero.
Doppler...How many times will you use a human heart... he thought. And... X, Zero, please come back alive...
He turned his head towards one photograph that stood on his small table. One of them depicted Dr. Cain himself along with the former Dr. Doppler.
Somewhere…
"Tornado ll" flew across the sky. Sonic, as always, was on the wing of the plane and looked into the distance. Tails was in the cab and looked at Miles Electric, which indicated the route to the city of Haryana.
"We'll be there in 2 minutes," Tails said before he turned his head forward and saw something in the distance, causing the little fox to squint in confusion.
He saw that there was no light in Haryana except the glowing power plant in the distance. Tails looked at the wing where Sonic was standing and saw that the hedgehog also had the same puzzled expression on his face as the little fox.
This is a very alarming sign, Tails thought. And this means only one thing... That same maverick from the news got to this power plant!
The little fox turned towards the wing again but did not see Sonic. Realizing exactly where he went, Tails headed towards the power plant.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Haryan...
"The city is generally quiet," said Mega Man X, flying on ride armor*. "So, that same Dr. Doppler chip became his "star"... If this is not so... Then in that case, I can stop Catfish's rampage!"
"Hey, X!" suddenly a blue hedgehog landed on Ride Armor in front of the blue reploid. "Why are you talking like an actor from a dramatic scene?"
"Ah!" X jumped back, not expecting Sonic to appear in front of him like that. "Sonic?! What are you doing here?!"
"I was running past and saw you," said Sonic, looking at him at the same time. "By the way, X, what are you wearing?"
"I look ridiculous in a rubber cover, don't I?" asked the blue reploid.
"You look fine in this cover," answered the blue hedgehog. "Did you wear this to fight the maverick who took over the power plant?"
"That's right," answered X. "This maverick's name is Volt Catfish. He is a reploid with an electricity generator built into his body. He previously used it to provide power to cities in times of crisis. But for some reason he turned into a maverick and became a real devil. Zero and I had previously encountered him at the Dosu's power plant, but we were both electrocuted by him. For this reason, gave me this rubber cover. To be honest, I feel embarrassed to be in this."
"Got it," said Sonic. "Speaking of this power plant. When I was flying here with Tails, I noticed that she was glowing in the distance."
"If that's the case, then there's something here..." X began until his eyes widened in shock and Sonic looked where the blue reploid was looking.
They saw that the power plant was all decorated like a Christmas tree. In the literal sense of the word.
"Wow," said Sonic, impressed by this type of decoration. "This guy did a good job with the decorations for the New Year."
"This power plant has been turned into a Christmas tree! What was he even thinking?!" Mega Man X shouted in bewilderment.
Meanwhile…
"Tornado ll" was getting closer and closer to the power plant. Tails noticed that robots from Dr. Doppler's army were holding people hostage downstairs. The little fox lowered his plane and began to prepare to shoot at the mavericks.
Unexpectedly for the smallest fox, Zero appeared out of nowhere and attacked the mavericks. Sighing with relief and joy that he saw the red reploid alive and well, Tails decided to land the plane nearby. He decided to do this not only to talk to Zero again, but also to go after the chaos emerald.
Meanwhile, at the top of the power plant...
"We're getting closer!" X said as he and Sonic on ride armor began to approach Volt Catfish. The blue reploid turned to the blue hedgehog. "But before you attack him, wait until I start."
"Come on, X!" said Sonic. "I can handle this just fine."
"First of all, I don't want the same thing to happen to you as last time. And secondly, this Maverick is an electric type, and it is very dangerous." said X.
"Come on, I've fought with electric-type robots before," said the blue hedgehog. "What is the problem?"
"I already explained it to you," Mega Man X said seriously and irritably, and he turned to maverick, who was meanwhile on the stage.
He pressed a button and a rocket flew out of the vehicle. It hit the Christmas tree star, under which Volt Catfish was located. Meanwhile, he sang his song:
"And they hold large scale meetings~"
X and Sonic jumped off ride armor and landed on the stage.
"Sorry, buddy, but your concert is over!" Sonic said as he stood up on two legs and grinned.
"It's time to liberate the power plant!" X exclaimed as he sat on his knee and pointed his finger at Volt Catfish.
"What's wrong with you?~~" said the electric maverick catfish. – Are you flying here without an invitation? And are you the same Sonic the Hedgehog that I heard about from Doppler?~~
"Yes, the same one," answered the blue runner.
"You...You..." Volt Catfish began, and his dynamos began to light up from the overflow of electricity.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sonic asked, noticing that the maverick's body, like the dynamos, began to light up due to the fact that electricity began to overflow in it.
"Sonic, BEND DOWN!" X shouted and grabbed the hedgehog.
"...RIDICULOUS!" Volt Catfish finished and raised his mustache to direct a stream of electricity towards the two blue heroes.
I have faith in Dr. Cain and that ridiculous rubber cover! X thought before the electricity overtook them and...
BOOM
There was the sound of an explosion.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Catfish laughed, seeing the black hole that was in the place of the hedgehog and the reploid, and dancing with joy. "What a huge hole!"
Suddenly something like a shot flashed in front of Catfish.
"Welcome fireworks!" maverick said, laughing like a child.
But suddenly the stage area collapsed underneath him, and Volt Catfish fell, and landed on the floor on one of the floors of this power plant.
"It never ends, right?" said the reploid catfish and turned to the viewer, as if he knew that we were here.
He noticed X pointing a blaster at him and Sonic, who was warming up.
"We're still alive!" said the blue hedgehog, looking at the electric maverick. "Well, are you still ready to fight with us again?"
"My goal is to gain the world!" said Volt Catfish, pointing his finger at the blue hedgehog and the reploid. "I was looking for a guys who could take my electric shocks! Together we will conquer the whole world!"
"Don't make me laugh…" X said furiously.
Sonic just looked at Catfish in surprise before laughing.
"PHA-HA-HA-HA!"
"Sonic, what's so funny?!" asked X in bewilderment.
"This guy makes me laugh, X," Sonic replied, still laughing. "These words "let's conquer the world!" and "let's get the world" I heard a long time ago from one of my acquaintances. Eh...I miss when Eggy joked during the fight."
"We don't have time for this, Sonic!" The blue reploid said, a little irritated by the blue hedgehog's attitude, then he turned to the catfish maverick and fired. "The world to which I am heading is a world without war!"
"Okay, Mr. Catfish," Sonic said with his signature grin. "Are you ready to fight us a little?"
"Oh yeah, I haven't come up with a name for our group yet..." Volt Catfish said and Sonic pointed his leg at him to hit him.
Outside…
"The chaos emerald is inside this power plant," Tails said, walking around the power plant and looking for the entrance. "Where is this entrance…Find it!"
The little fox stopped in front of the power plant entrance. Since it was closed, Tails took his Miles Electric out of his bag and found his way to the Haryana Power Plant system. Soon the door opened and Tails flew inside.
Zero, thank you for your extra help, Tails thought in his mind.
Inside the power plant...
X fell to the ground while Sonic landed on his feet.
"Eh," said Volt Catfish, who looked very tired. "It seems like I've wasted energy... I need to recharge..."
He fell to the floor from fatigue and began to crawl towards the metal circle. Sonic and Mega Man X looked up and saw a device that was round and somewhat reminiscent of a chandelier. Once the Maverick-cat was under this device, an electrical current was sent to Volt Catfish, thus recharging it.
"Ho-ho-ho-ho!" maverick laughed. "Everything is getting so exciting!"
"He charges himself with electricity?!" X was indignant, pointing his blaster at Volt Catfish. "To hell with it! I won't allow this!"
Tails walked through the corridors of the Haryana Power Station, which were surprisingly empty.
"X, wait a minute," Sonic said, stopping X. "I have an idea. Do you mind if you help me jump on that thing that charges it?"
"Are you crazy?!" The blue reploid shouted in surprise upon hearing the hedgehog's words. "You could get hurt!"
"I'm not afraid," Sonic said with a smile. "Don't worry about me. Do you remember what I told you earlier that I have experience with electric robots? Trust me."
Tails entered the power plant control room. Once in this room, the Little Fox began to look for the Chaos Emerald. As it turned out, there was no emerald.
X stared at the blue hedgehog in silence before he took a deep breath, crossed his hands together and said:
"Fine."
Sonic climbed onto X's crossed arms and curled into a ball. The blue reploid raised his crossed arms upward, thus launching Sonic. The blue hedgehog in the form of a ball headed towards the device. But when the ball got closer to the thing, the hedgehog returned to its normal state and touched the high-voltage barrier with its feet. He was immediately electrocuted and Sonic jumped back to X.
"I told you so!" X said and turned to the device. "If a high-voltage barrier protects this thing, then that means the same with Catfish...Sonic, now let me try to break this device."
The blue reploid pointed his blaster at the device. But suddenly he noticed that the rubber cover began to tear not only on the blaster, but throughout the body.
"X, what is it?" Sonic asked, noticing the worry on the reploid's face before he turned his attention to the rubber cover and smiled widely. "Your cover is starting to tear, isn't it? I think that you will be able to walk freely already."
"Sonic, this isn't even funny!" X exclaimed. "Now electricity will pass through my body!"
"If that's the case," Sonic said before he put on a cocky smile, "listen, can you get that rubber cover off your blaster? What can your blaster do besides shoot?"
"I can copy the data of my enemies' skills and weapons," answered the blue reploid. "By the way, thanks for the idea, Sonic."
"You're welcome," said the hedgehog with a wide grin. "But you need to hurry."
Tails tries to connect to the power plant system to help Sonic at least a little. The Miles electric was connected to a large computer while the little fox stood next to the computer itself.
"Okay, I need to click here," Tails said to himself, clicking on the gizmo.
"I see this..." suddenly both heroes heard Volt Catfish speak.
"What is he talking about?" asked a slightly puzzled X.
"X, better do what we need now!" Sonic said, reminding the reploid of what he needed to do now.
"One second," X said and began to tear off the rubber cover from his blaster.
"I see us..." continued Maverick-catfish. "...Appearing on stage as the best comedians in the whole world!"
By this point, X had already completely torn the rubber cover off his blaster. Sonic looked at him with a serious expression on his face. They both nodded to each other because they knew what to do.
"Here it IS!" Volt Catfish shouted as he completely absorbed the electricity into himself. ""Big Bang!". Our goal is whole world! Do you disagree with this?"
"What the…?" Tails said quietly and his eye pupils shrank for some reason.
Volt Catfish directed electricity at Sonic and X. But both heroes managed to leave the place where the electricity was directed.
"The whole world!" the maverick said loudly, continuing to direct and electrocute the blue reploid and the hedgehog, while imagining himself and X as the best comedians (they were both dressed in very stylish suits). "The entire solar system! The entire Galaxy! No! NO! BETTER! THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!"
Sonic and X managed to bypass his attacks. Soon the blue hedgehog turned to the reploid and said loudly to him:
"X, SHOOT!"
"As you say," X said with a smile.
X pointed his blaster at Volt Catfish.
"TORNADO FANG!" the blue reploid said loudly and drill-missiles flew out of his blaster.
"You want to get rid of me with drill-rocket missiles?" maverick catfish asked, singing along a little. "Well, it will be very interesting!~"
The missile drills seemed to be heading towards Catfish, but suddenly for some reason they flew up towards the ceiling.
"Ah!" Tails shouted, falling to the floor in fright.
He looked at the blood-red screen, on which various black letters and numbers were running.
-W-What is this?! - thought the little fox, shaking with horror and misunderstanding.
He looked attentively at the screen. Despite the fact that after a second his eyes began to hurt, he was able to make out the word in Latin:
E
"No effect!" the electric maverick said in a joyful tone and danced. "My defense definitely protects...Hn?"
Catfish noticed that there was no longer any protection around him, he looked up and saw that those missile drills were around that device and were absorbing electricity into themselves.
"Now you will no longer be able to use your electrical protection!" said X. "That weapon that I released absorbs electric current!" (He turned to Sonic) "Sonic."
The blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs up as he knew the next step of their plan. Sonic picked up speed and quickly ran towards Catfish. X raised his blaster towards the device.
Tails disconnected Miles electric from the computer so as not to see this horror anymore. After that, he quickly left the control room.
"Game over!" the hedgehog and the reploid said in unison before X fired and Sonic jumped high and raised his leg wide above the catfish maverick's head.
X's shot hit the device, causing it to explode. And Sonic kicked Volt Catfish hard in the head. Inside the electric maverick's head, in its electronic brain, the warm was broken. Catfish's body fell to the ground and the maverick himself passed out. He soon returned to himself, but no longer in the form of a mad maverick, as evidenced by his pupils, similar to those of a human. Sonic walked up to him, leaned over and asked:
"How are you?"
"I'm fine now, thank you..." said the electronic reploid and looked at the sky to where the moon was shining. Seeing the Earth's satellite, his eyes widened a little in admiration. "How beautiful... This sky is like jewels lying on the floor next to an overturned box. But...What am I doing here? Forgive me, Mr. Hedgehog..."
"Sonic," said the blue hedgehog when X approached him and looked at Catfish. "Name's Sonic the Hedgehog."
"Nice to meet you, Sonic." the reploid said with a smile before his smile disappeared and he directly looked at the moon. "I wanted to give people the light of the stars... But instead, I did the opposite. What have I done…"
"It's not your fault, Catf," said the blue hedgehog. "You had a parasite in your brain that made you do all this. Otherwise, I really like your puns, although I don't quite understand them."
"X, Sonic?" Volt Catfish turned to the two of them. "Can you help me get up?"
"Of course," said the blue hedgehog, and together with X, he helped the electronic reploid to his feet.
When Volt Catfish stood upright, he walked over to the coiled wires and picked them up.
"I am a reploid who has a generator to give everyone light and electricity," said Catfish, directing an electronic current from his body into the wires. "Because of me, everyone was left without electricity." I must accomplish what I was meant to do. This is my meaning in life.
"Stop!" X exclaimed, but Sonic raised his hand to separate the blue reploid from the catfish reploid.
"Let him do it," the blue hedgehog told him, turning to X. "He knows he's doing what's best for all of us." I appreciate those robots who have their own purpose in life, and the fact that they fulfill or achieve them according to their own will, and not because of someone else's. Yes, there will be difficulties along the way, but you need to move on and never look back. Do you know where I'm going with this?
"Yeah, Sonic," said the blue reploid. "You are absolutely right."
"You know, Sonic and X..." Volt Catfish turned to the two heroes. "I...I wanted to become a comedian...I dreamed about it, but I was afraid that they wouldn't be able to accept me because I'm a reploid and everyone would consider me a laughing stock...But after seeing the three of us in my vision and hearing your words, Mister Sonic, I realized that I can become one no matter what... Thank you..."
"You're welcome...Volt Catfish-san*..." X said with tears in his eyes.
"Why are you crying, X?" Sonic asked in a sarcastic tone. "Are you too sensitive?"
"You could say that," said the blue reploid, agreeing with the hedgehog's sarcasm.
"Are you crying?" Catfish asked, also noticing X's tears. "But you know...Your tears are sparkling. They...Like...Little moons..."
These were his last words as he passed out, transferring all his energy.
"Catf?" Sonic asked, walking up to him to check if he was okay.
He and X shook him and called him, but Catfish did not respond. They did until they heard someone enter the room. They looked back and saw Tails, who was breathing heavily, apparently from running.
"Tails, what happened?" Sonic asked, approaching his friend.
"Sonic, I need to talk to you, along with X and Zero, alone," said Tails, who, although outwardly looked serious, was clearly visible in his eyes that he was frightened by something.
"About what?" asked Sonic, who was already starting to worry about Tails.
The little fox said nothing.
"You can start now," X said, approaching both. "Are you horrified of something?"
"Y-yes," Tails replied before he started talking. "I went into the control center of this power station, where the signal came from the Chaos Emerald. But there was no emerald there."
"So this signal was fake..." Sonic said and asked. "And then what happened?"
"I approached the computer and tried to log into the system so that I could somehow help you in the fight against this electric maverick," Tails continued. "But instead... The computer screen immediately turned red and some random letters and numbers appeared on it. All I could make out was "Discede." I was very scared in those moments because I didn't know what was happening. I disconnected Miles electric from the computer and left."
"«Discede»? You mean "go away"?" asked X, puzzled.
No one knew the answer to what this single word could mean.
"X," the blue hedgehog turned to the blue reploid, "do you know where Zero is? We need to talk to you and Zehr alone about something about your company."
"Okay," the blue reploid said before he stepped aside.
A little while later…
Sonic, Tails, X and Zero were outside the Haryana Power Station in a corner. Now the Maverick hunters were checking the tower, while others, along with medical workers, helped those people who were injured.
"Well, what do you want to talk to us about in connection with the Maverick Hunters organization?" Zero asked Sonic.
"About your methods of getting rid of mavericks." The blue hedgehog answered to the surprise of the two reploids. "On the way here, Tails and I met some dudes. One of them was a former soldier of the Sigma army. He was disappointed in what was happening in this army and left there. He arrived at the tower, which belongs to our enemy, Dr. Eggman. We met and chatted with him. I found out this thing: You are persecuting those former Mavericks who just want to live with a clean slate and not harm anyone."
"And why does this bother you so much?" Asked Zero.
"I care because you're not giving them a second chance by taking their life!" Sonic exclaimed. "I really value the freedom of choice of others, and I will not allow anyone to take away their second chance at reform. You can put them in jail, but don't kill them!"
"So, you released the maverick?!" Zero asked loudly in an angry voice.
"I can say so." Sonic answered, narrowing his eyes at Zero. "I gave him a choice whether he would go to prison or not. He chose the former because he felt guilty about what he had done. This sincere guilt is enough to be released. But he made a choice, and he is now in prison. It had the potential to fix the situation between Reploids and humans. It's the same with others. In addition, I also found out that some of the Mavericks are former Maverick hunters. While they may have left you because of their own selfish desires, there are those who simply wanted to influence this whole mess for the better!"
"Now listen to us, Sonic!" Zero leaned towards the blue hedgehog. "We ourselves are aware of all this, but we cannot do anything about it."
"Why?" The blue hedgehog asked, looking at the red reploid with a frown.
"Sonic, Zero." They both turned to X, who spoke to them. "I don't want this to turn into a quarrel, but I can agree with some of your thoughts. Sonic, I can agree that not all mavericks are bad, and that there are good guys among them, and that they deserve their second chance. But I completely agree with Zero. Sonic, I appreciate that you value second chances and the freedom of others, but not everyone deserves it or even can have it. Those mavericks who were infected with the virus...They cannot control themselves. They do such things not of their own free will. We have to destroy them because this way we free them from bodies that they cannot control. This is hard for both me and Zero, because our friends were among them. It's also hard for other Maverick hunters to watch this, but they have to do it for the safety of people and those reploids who are still sane."
When X said everything, Sonic fell silent, thinking about what the blue reploid told him. Tails, meanwhile, looked at X with sympathy. You can read from the reploid's face that it was hard and painful for him to remember exactly how his former friends died. There was silence until Sonic said:
"Forgive me for what I said earlier. But sometimes you need to separate the normal ones from the real crazy ones sometimes. If you don't do this, it will lead to big troubles not only for the relationship between reploids and people, but also for you. Even better, you need to look at this situation from a different perspective before you do "for justice and peace."
"Thank you for sharing your opinion and this thought with us." Zero said, then he smiled. "This is probably the very first bold criticism that I have heard in my own face. Especially from someone from another world."
Sonic looked at the red reploid in surprise, not expecting such an answer, before he smiled widely.
"As you say, Zero," said the blue hedgehog.
"Sonic, I have a proposal." X turned to Sonic. "We can form an alliance so we can help each other. If you don't want or don't need our help, then you can take our contact just in case."
"In fact, we don't have any problems finding the Chaos Emeralds yet, so we don't need to form an alliance yet," Tails said. "But taking contact from you, I think, will be useful for both sides."
"I agree." Said Sonic and turned to X. "Well, what will you do?"
"Well, we continue to fight the mavericks and Dr. Doppler's army." Zero answered. "Well, perhaps we will also look for the Chaos emeralds for you. Sonic, if you're so worried about our system, we can ask Dr. Cain to slightly change our rules for getting rid of mavericks."
"Thank you, Zero." Sonic smiled sincerely from the fact that everything was resolved this way, then he said, but with a serious tone. "X, Zero, please protect one ex-maverick Lurk from Doctor Doppler or his minions. He has one feature that distinguishes him from other reploids. I don't want Dr. Doppler to get to him."
"Lurk? That Lurk!?" X asked, suprisingly.
While all three were discussing about the contact, future plans, and Sonic was talking about what happened to Lurk and future plans, Tails looked thoughtful, wanting to figure out what the word "go away" even meant.
Meanwhile…
At Dr. Doppler's base, the mad scientist smiled evilly as he looked at the blue emerald he held in his hand. He looked at the screen where our heroes were depicted.
"Lucky me," he said in a voice that was not his own. "First, I found out where Dr. Cain's secret base and laboratory were located, and then the Nightmare Police found me a Chaos emerald. And they don't even realize that..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a severe headache. He held his head with one hand and tried to regain his balance and gain control of his body.
"No..." Dr. Doppler finally said, but in his own voice. "Please leave Philip alone! He and other people and reploids are not to blame for who you are now! You…"
"Shut up, doctor," said something pretending to be Dr. Doppler.
Inside his body, two entities fought for control of one body. Soon "Doppler" rose to his feet and approached the screen again. This time there were no heroes. He smiled evilly once more before the mad scientist began to chuckle. This turned into an evil laugh.
Next time...Trip to Phu Quoc.
Notes:
1. -san at the end of names is a neutral polite way of addressing a person in Japan. It has a similar meaning to the English "Mr," "Miss," and "Mrs."
2. Tornado Fang is a weapon that appears in the manga and game of Mega Man X. It can be obtained from the Rhyno Tunnel. These are drills that act like rockets.
3. Ride Armor is a type of transport from the Mega Man X games. It used for completing and playthrough through the maverick's stage.
P.S: I'm very sorry what it took long to publish this chapter. Also I want to warn you earlier that Annual 2024, what should published in the March might be rescheduled because of my school or what I was busy with the Sonic Realization 2 and this fanfic. Wish you Merry Christmas and New Year!
Edith: I made some edits to this chapter and chapter 7 to follow up on chapter 6 of this fanfic.