-Chapter 189-
Night at the Club
In Orbit
The 6-S came walking through the halls of the station they were on, each of them in one piece while holding several mechanical chips in their hand. Dr. Amino looked up from his work, blinking in surprise.
"You're all in one piece," he noted. "Not even Cubot is dented."
"I know, right?!" Cubot exclaimed. "I never would have believed it myself."
Amino then took note of what they were holding.
"And you were successful?" he asked.
"Yep!" Scratch confirmed. "Managed to collect a whole bunch of those chips from all the appliances."
"You think we're malfunctioning?" Cubot pondered.
"If you are, I hope you never get fixed," Robotnik deadpanned as he approached and looked them over. "Ah. Nanochips with artificial intelligence. So that's how Snively pulled it off."
"And yet, he didn't account for waterproofing," Orbot mused. "The Freedom Fighters took them out with fire hoses."
"Well, it is still Snively," Robotnik pointed out.
He then glances at Bocoe and Decoe, who were looking more than a little proud of themselves.
"What has you two all smug?" he asked.
"We saved the wheelchair girl from a chainsaw," Decoe remarked.
"And Kat Winters thanked us," Bocoe added.
"And to think you all nearly leaked yourself at the thought of facing her," Amino mused as he worked.
"Good work, all of you," Robotnik nodded. "Deliver the chips to Agatha, then you're free to go."
All seven cheered, rushing to do so.
Later on, Robotnik was in his lab, where the scorched remains of the Chaos Syphon sat. Setting out clear spherical casings, he reached for the lever on the still-intact tank.
"What are you doing?!" Eggatha's voice screamed from the door.
The doctor jumped, turning to see his niece standing there. She had a horrified expression on her face as she stared at the remains of the horrible machine.
"After what happened last time, you're still messing with the Syphon?!"
"Agatha, calm down," Robotnik insisted, gently waving her down. "I'm not rebuilding it."
"Then what are you doing?!"
"Extracting the stored Chaos energy in the tank. Kathryn isn't using it, and Power Cores don't make themselves."
"Wait... the tanks are still functioning?"
"They were full to near capacity when I started on this," Robotnik answered. "Believe me, I'm doing us a favor, making use of the energy. Otherwise, we'd be dealing with a Chaos explosion. One that would be in line with Sonic's Hyper form. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?"
"No... I guess not," Eggatha confirmed.
She was still looking warily at the machine.
"Tell you what," Robotnik decided. "Once I've drained the tanks, you can personally throw it into the smelter. How does that sound?"
Eggatha finally smiled. "Sounds good to me."
"Perfect," Robotnik nodded. "Now, has there been any sign of my little robot?"
"Oh, right!" Eggatha perked. "He's en route to Central City. By my calculations, he's headed for Night Babylon."
"Really? I thought he was with a six year old girl. What business does he have in a nightlife district?"
"Most likely, there's a Chaos Emerald in the area. However, Rouge the Bat does own a nightclub in the area. Maybe Sonic and the others decided to teach Emerl how to have fun."
"How much like Sonic," Robotnik deadpanned. "Teaching a robot to have fun, especially one like Emerl. You might as well try and teach Cubot advanced physics."
Central City
A Warp Ring opened up outside of Club Rouge, Rouge the Bat's privately owned nightclub within Night Babylon, the neon-lit nightlife district of Central City, rife with stores, bars and casinos.
. As they got there, Mina, Antoine, and Bunnie were all waiting outside the door.
"Thanks for coming so fast," Mina said.
"Thanks for not breaking my window," Rouge replied.
They headed inside, explaining the situation.
"The signal led us here," Bunnie said. "Let me guess, the Chaos Emerald is in a safe behind a painting in Rouge's office."
"Nope," Rouge replied. "It's in a safe under a carpet in my office."
"I'm more surprised by the fact that you have a nightclub, Rouge," Sally remarked.
"You shouldn't be," Knuckles remarked. "It was her cover before she joined GUN."
"I bought the property legitimately and legally," Rouge informed him. "And it makes good money."
"And it's good cover for your exploits?" Hope asked.
Rouge cracked a smile as she peeled back the carpet to reveal the safe. "Maybe."
She reached for the combination lock before turning to the others, motioning for them to turn around.
"Ah-ah-ah. No peeking."
Rolling their eyes, they turned around as Rouge got to work. She popped open the safe, and pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald.
"Alright, still as beautiful as the day I found it." she said proudly.
"Perfect," Sonic grinned. "How many is that?"
Kat dug into her pocket, pulling out the red one as Omega produced the blue one.
"Shadow, do you have one?" Hope asked.
"Yeah." Shadow produced the white Emerald. "That makes four."
Emerl looked at each Emerald, scanning them one by one. His chest then opened as he began absorbing all four of the Emeralds.
"Hey!" Rouge objected.
They saw the green Emerald among them as his chest closed. His eyes glowed before settling down.
"Chaos Emeralds integrated," he said, his voice much clearer now. "Upgrade complete."
Suddenly, a new voice cried out in shock.
"What the hell was that?!"
Everyone spun around to see Amy at the door, mouth agape.
"Amy?" Sonic asked. "What are you doing here?"
"It's seven o'clock," Amy replied. "The nightclub's usually open, and I like coming here on Friday nights."
"Yep, she's a regular," Rouge confirmed.
"That, and I promised to show Cosmo a good time," Amy added.
Cosmo stepped out from behind Amy, waving sheepishly.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted.
"Now, about what I just saw," Amy said. "You gonna answer my question?"
Sonic walked over, placing an arm around her shoulders.
"Y'know what, we're at the club. Let's give you the cliffs notes over a drink."
-X-
Everyone gathered down in the nightclub, sipping on the various sodas that Rouge had on tap, though Cosmo stuck with water. Sonic told Amy everything that had occurred, with the others filling in where needed. As they did that, Cosmo took stock of the chair she was in.
"I've never sat in a bar stool before. It's... soft," she mused. "And it spins!"
She began spinning in place, laughing as she did.
"Glad you're enjoying yourself," Tails remarked, smiling as he twirled his straw in his drink.
"Something to check off your bucket list?" Rouge asked.
Cosmo stopped, tilting her head quizzically. "What's a bucket list?"
"It's a list of things you want to do," Tails explained, the others turning to join in on the conversation. "Stuff to make your life feel more... fulfilling."
"Basically, a big list of places to go, stuff to do, things to see," Kat added, "before you, well… kick the bucket."
"Why would you kick a bucket?" Cosmo questioned.
The others exchanged looks.
"You wanna tell her, or should I?" Knuckles asked.
"You get that honor, my friend," Kat patted him on the back.
"Right…" Knuckles sighed, turning to Cosmo. "'Kick the bucket' is a lighthearted term we use here on Mobius. When you kick the bucket, you, well... die."
"Oh, I get it," Cosmo didn't even seem slightly fazed. "A list of things to do so you're not passing on feeling unfulfilled. It's beautiful, and an amazing way to make memories."
"Exactly," Knuckles nodded.
"Huh," Sonic mused. "I thought she'd take it a bit, well... harder."
"Because of what happened before I came here?" Cosmo asked.
Sonic nodded. "Basically."
"Death is a natural part of life. It hurts for those of us left behind, but it is inevitable. The best we can do is enjoy the time we have with those we care about. Yes, I miss my mother and people, but they live on through me." Cosmo then turned to Rouge. "May I have a pen and a piece of paper?"
"Sure thing, sweetie," Rouge replied.
She grabbed a pen and pad, then handed them to Cosmo, who began writing some things down.
"What do you guys have on your bucket lists?" the plant girl asked.
"I want to see the hanging gardens of Spagonia," Amy answered.
"I want to see an alien planet," Chris declared.
"Dude, you stole that from me!" Keith exclaimed.
"Doesn't mean I don't want to see one."
"I want to race in the ACES competition," Tails said.
"That big airplane contest they hold in Apotos every year?" Hope questioned.
"Yep," Tails confirmed.
"You'd be a shoo-in for that," said Sonic.
"Me?" Knuckles asked. "I want to do something that will make sure my name goes down in history. I want to be remembered as one of the greats among my people."
"Those all sound wonderful," Cosmo mused, turning to Sonic. "What about you?"
"Me?" Sonic asked. "I just live by my own feelings, follow the wind. Live every day like it was my last. The way I see it, don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live a life without regrets." He smiled, standing up as the DJ began playing pop music. "And it just so happens we're in the kinda place you can get a lot of living done in a short period of time."
He went out on the dance floor, and had barely stood there for a minute before a blue fedora was randomly tossed at him. Sonic skillfully caught it, flipping it onto his head and standing there as the music swelled and a spotlight shined on him. Within seconds, he was pulling off a stylish dance routine, whooping and performing such moves as the moonwalk (1). Everyone was clapping and cheering as the dance came to an end. He tossed the fedora aside, watching as it hooked onto a coat rack perfectly.
"Huh," Mina remarked. "He's a Michael Jack Terrier (2) fan. Who knew?"
Sally rolled her eyes. "What a ham."
"You love me," Sonic retorted as he sat down.
"Only on days that end in 'Y'," Sally shot back, getting a smirk.
Kat glanced at Emerl, whose eyes were glowing.
"I think Emerl was impressed," she noted. "He just copied you."
"Oh, really?" Sonic asked. "I do believe this calls for a dance off."
Emerl stood up. "It's on."
They both went out on the dance floor, pulling off numerous moves and trying to out-step the other with breakdances, pirouettes... the works. Everyone was clapping once more, cheering for either Sonic or Emerl.
"Way to go, Sonic!" Tails cheered.
"You got this, Emerl!" Cream clapped.
As he balanced on one hand, Sonic playfully glared at Cream. "Traitor."
Cream just put on a cute face, batting her eyes. The battle ended, and the entire area erupted in applause.
"Who won?" Cream asked.
"I think it was a draw," Chris replied.
"Good duel, Emerl," Sonic complimented.
With that, they spread out and began engaging in activities all over the club. Omega and Shard went out on the dance floor, performing the Robot as Tekno picked up some darts, aiming at a dartboard. After pulling off a perfect bullseye, Sonic stepped in, rolling up his sleeves and picking up a can full of darts.
"Watch and learn," he said.
"Uh-oh…" Tails let out.
Sonic threw multiple darts at rapid speed, only for every one of them to miss. A few even hit a waitress carrying sodas for the kids.
"Whoops…" Sonic let out nervously.
"This is why you stick with running," Tails sighed. "With stuff like this, you're supposed to take it slow and actually aim, not shoot and throw like crazy."
Around that time, Cosmo had caught sight of a mechanical bull and was looking it over.
"Uh…" she began, "is that bull missing a head, or does it have two butts?"
"It's a fake bull," Kat told her. "And there's no head because it's a bit dangerous with one."
"What's it doing here?" Cosmo questioned.
"Well, honey, you sit on it and hold on," Bunnie explained. "It powers on, and you see how long you can hang on without being bucked off."
"That sounds painful," Cosmo remarked.
"Not really, sugar," Bunnie assured. "In fact, they've got all that padding around the bull to make sure nobody gets hurt. It's actually quite fun."
"Yeah!" Sonic said. "We'll show you."
In no time, he was riding on the bull, holding on tightly as they watched.
"See?" he asked. "It's easy!"
Bunnie smirked mischievously. "Not for long."
She slid a coin into the panel, turning it to the highest setting. Sonic held on for a while before being flung off, sailing across the club and slamming into the shelves behind the bar. A chorus of sympathetic groans and winces sounded before Sonic sprang to his feet.
"I'm okay!" he cheered, giving two thumbs up.
All of the kids just started laughing at the sight, Kat nearly falling out of her seat as she did.
"Alright, wise guys," Sonic snarked, sitting down. "I'd like to see you do any better."
"Okay, I'll give it a shot," Chris decided.
Bunnie was merciful to Chris, only setting it to a medium setting. Sadly, he only lasted five seconds before he was thrown off, though not nearly as far as Sonic had been. His cousin suffered a similar fate, but managed seven seconds.
"Oh, sure," Sonic deadpanned. "I get the highest setting and get thrown across the club, but they don't."
"Sugar, you were slammed into a brick wall on Chris' rocket shoes and just walked it off," Bunnie pointed out. "I knew you could handle it."
"Ooh!" Kat declared. "Me next! Me next! And don't hold back!"
She rushed towards the bull, climbing on.
"You sure you don't want me holding back?" Bunnie asked.
Kat rolled her eyes. "I rip robots apart with my bare hands on an almost daily basis. Trust me, I can handle it."
The bull powered on. Kat was bucked and tossed all over the place, but kept a firm grip. After about twenty seconds, her grip finally slipped and she fell.
"Yes!" she cheered. "Eat that, guys!"
"Alright, I'll give it a shot," Cosmo decided. "Guess this counts as 'tame a wild animal.'"
They stole a look at her bucket list, seeing that very item on it.
Chris chuckled. "Guess it does."
Much to their surprise, Cosmo held on for twenty-five seconds before being thrown off. On instinct, Tails ran forward, catching her before she could hit the ground.
"Thank you, Tails," Cosmo said politely as he set her down.
"How did you manage to hold on for so long?" Tails asked.
"I just used the handholds."
Tails raised an eyebrow. "Handholds? Mechanical bulls don't have those."
"This one does. See for yourself."
They approached, seeing several deep dents in the bull. A moment passed before Kat sheepishly placed a hand in one, the hand fitting perfectly.
"Whoops…" she let out. "My bad."
She reached under the bull, finding the dent, and popping it back into normal shape like it was nothing. Just then, everyone jumped as a loud boom sounded, patrons screaming. The Freedom Fighters whirled around to see a robot stomp in, highly resembling E-102 Gamma, but with two hands instead of a gun arm.
"Gamma?!" Amy and Cream cried out.
"No, that's not possible," Sonic insisted. "He's supposed to be offline. And a lot taller."
"I'm calling in the rest of my team," Hope decided.
She grabbed her com as the Gamma lookalike eyed them, stomping forward.
"Gamma, stop!" Cream begged. "It's us, your friends, Amy and Cream! Don't you recognize us?"
"Target recognized," Gamma replied. "Amy Rose, Freedom Fighter. Status, enemy."
He lifted his fists. "Orders: eliminate."
"Gamma…?" Cream let out.
"No," Gamma replied. "E-102 Gamma was a traitor who met his just end. I am Chaos Gamma. His superior."
He prepared to bring his fists down, but Sonic got Amy out of the way in time.
"A fake, meant to throw us off," he realized. "Eggman, you bastard."
"Priority One Hedgehog, stand aside," Chaos Gamma ordered. "My business is with the Gizoid."
Cream hugged Emerl close, the bot's eyes glowing red.
"You're not laying one servo on him!" Sonic swore.
"What do you want with him?" Cream demanded.
Chaos Gamma's eyes turned red as well.
"I was to be Dr. Robotnik's latest enforcer. But he chose to focus on the Gizoid instead. He stole the Chaos Emerald and power that should have gone to me, and I will have it back!"
A rocket launcher popped out of his shoulder, taking aim at the group. Emerl's eyes briefly flashed as he saw the launcher, before a missile fired. Two metal bracers hit the ground as Kat grabbed the missile.
"Go!" he shouted. "Get out of here! Everyone!"
Emerl grabbed Cream, running out with her as the others got to work getting the other patrons to safety.
"C'mon everyone!" Chris shouted. "Move! Move!"
"This is not a drill!" Keith added. "That robot WILL blow you to pieces!"
As Kat strained, the missile began beeping, slowly at first, but then faster and faster.
"Ohhhh, f-"
The missile blew up in her face, sending her flying across the dance floor. She hit the brick hard, then crumbled to the ground.
"Kat!" Sonic's teeth clenched in anger before he turned to face Chaos Gamma. "You so shouldn't have done that."
His entire form began to spark, a brilliant, righteous blue.
"Readying Solid Knuckle." Chaos Gamma's missile launcher retracted, his fists expanding to twice their size.
"Oh, this is gonna hurt…" Sonic let out.
-X-
Outside, Shadow and Omega had arrived, Hope telling them what was going on before a loud crash sounded. Sonic went flying through the glass door, sailing across the street and slamming into a car, denting the side and setting off the alarm. They were by his side in an instant.
"Sonic!" Sally cried. "Are you okay?!"
"Don't go to Raccoon City," Sonic mumbled in a daze. "There are zombies all over the place. (3)."
Shadow's eyes narrowed at that.
"Rouge, stay here and keep everyone safe," he ordered. "Omega, you're with me."
He drew his gun as they headed in. Chaos Gamma turned to face them.
"Omega," he remarked. "So you're the walking arsenal I was created to replace."
Omega's optics turned red, his Flickies all chirping frantically
"You…" he hissed. "You are an abomination. You should not exist."
"It was the previous Gamma who should not have existed," Chaos Gamma retorted. "He was a soft-hearted traitor. I am neither."
Omega's guns cycled.
"He was a better robot than either of us. I will not allow you to sully his name!"
He unloaded on Chaos Gamma, who went on the defensive.
"Engaging Buster Drill."
His hands retracted, becoming twin drills before he charged right at Omega.
"Need help?" Shadow asked.
"Negative. This fake is mine."
Omega braced himself, catching the drills in his hands. Gamma's charge knocked him back about a foot before he planted his feet and stopped him.
"You cannot destroy me!" Gamma swore.
"Correction. I will destroy you."
He threw Gamma aside. The robot was on his feet quickly.
"Initiating Discharge Mode."
The drills shifted into electrical prongs, forcing Omega back.
"Wow," Shadow mused from his spot on the wall. "And I thought you were a walking arsenal."
Omega turned to Shadow, seemingly glaring at him.
"Do you not have an unconscious child to be rescuing?" he asked, pointing to Kat.
Shadow winced. "Right."
He scooped up Kat, heading out. Once they were gone, Omega activated his own arsenal, pulling out all the stops.
-X-
From the window, Emerl scanned everything. Shadow sat Kat down as they heard multiple explosions and laser blasts from inside.
"I just can't take you guys anywhere," Rouge sighed.
"Hey, Omega's got this," Shadow assured.
A few moments passed before the carnage stopped. Omega calmly walked out of the club.
"Omega?" Cream asked.
Omega turned to her, gently patting her head. "The fake is gone."
Cream looked down, sniffling.
"Gamma…" she let out. "How could the doctor do something so horrible?"
The others looked on with sympathy as she wept. As this went on, Emerl approached her, petting her ears.
"Don't cry…" he let out, his speech less stilted than before. "I don't want to see those cute little eyes filled with tears…"
Cream buried her face in Emerl's shoulder plate.
"Next time I see my uncle, I'm kicking him as hard as I can between the legs," Hope swore.
"Well, at least we had some fun tonight," Sonic stood up slowly, stretching his arms and cracking his neck. "C'mon, guys. Let's go home."
"Yeah," Rouge stole a glance at the ransacked interior of the club. "I need to call my renovator."
Some time later…
Later, Eggatha arrived at a dumpster behind the club. She opened it up, finding Chaos Gamma's dented, blasted body. A moment passed before his optics flickered on, his hand twitching.
"Auto-check start…" he let out. "Recovery Mode activated."
"I told Uncle making you was a bad idea," Eggatha sighed. "But at least he had the good sense to make an auto recovery system."
She loaded him into the Egg Mobile she took, flying off with him.
"I got him, Uncle Ivo," she said into the com. "He's been utterly demolished."
"He'll pull himself back together," Robotnik assured. "In the meantime, the Gizoid is coming along quite nicely. No doubt he saw and copied every weapon Gamma and Omega used in their fight."
"Uncle, we don't even know if we'll be able to turn Emerl back to our side," Eggatha pointed out. "Are you really sure giving him all this power is a good idea?"
"It's all part of the plan. Once he sees the power we wield, his Link with Cream will be history... and he'll be my top enforcer."
Author's Note:
(1): Think like Dante's Michael Jackson-style dance from Devil May Cry 5.
(2): Mobian Michael Jackson
(3): Bit of a meta gag; Roger Craig Smith, Sonic's VA from 2010-2021, also voiced Chris Redfield.
So... yeah. Most of this was based on the bar scene from the Sonic movie. Cosmo's reactions and the like were taken from Sonic's. It made sense; she's the alien among them.
Please R&R. Until next time!
