GammaTron: Wow. 40 chapters and over 170 reviews. I'm really glad for this kind of attention to a story. Thanks everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows this story.
"Okay, everyone out here?" Eggman questioned as Cassia hopped out of a green swirling vortex, "No discomfort? Missing limbs? …Switched brains or AIs?"
"No, no. I believe I am fine," Starscream replied as he checked himself over.
=Aw, sis! Come on, stop that!= Cassia whined under her breath as Clove checked her over.
"We're both fine," Clove informed once she was finished.
"I'm all safe and right, boss," Jetfire confirmed.
"Aside from feeling a bit nauseous from that…urp!" Sleet swallowed the bile that had come up into his mouth, "I…I think I'm okay."
"I'm perfectly fine," Lien-Da snorted.
"Good, good, good," Eggman nodded, "All right, until we can secure an area here as our base of operations, we are to stay close and…"
"Hold up there," Jetfire advised as he readied himself, "I think I'm hearin' some bloke around the…"
*SHINK*
"cor...ner…"
Clove covered Cassia's optics as Jetfire slowly looked down at his chest, revealing a red and black, semi-liquid, four-clawed hand going right through it, his power core in its grasp. The hand crushed the core before Jetfire collapsed, his visor dimming. Giving a gurgling growl was the owner of the hand. At first, it looked like Chaos 1 but red and black. However, its head was made of metal with metal dreadlocks. Metal wiring floated inside of its body, shaped like a skeleton.
"Uh…Lien-Da?" Sleet gulped.
"This…This is a new type I haven't seen before," Lien-Da replied, staring at it with wide eyes.
More gurgling growls and snarls made Eggman and Starscream quickly turn on lights on their machine/body respectively. Illuminated in the light was a multitude of the Artificial Chaos. While some looked like the ones Lien-Da had warned them of-but black and red-, there were many different kinds. Some resembling bat-like creatures with long thin tails with others resembling oversized worms. Yet all of them were sporting the same metal heads with metal dreadlocks.
"Down," a voice ordered before a part of the swarm around them moved to the sides, letting Shadow approach them.
Lien-Da looked over this Zone's version of Shadow the Hedgehog. He wore a black leather jacket that ended at above his knees while there was more armor on his shoes with larger gold rings on his wrists and legs. The red and black leather that came from the rings were larger as well and even came out from the other side. Resting on his back was the black and gold sword he had stolen.
'This is an interesting change…' Lien-Da thought.
"Ah! Shadow! We finally meet!" Eggman noted.
"And you are?"
"I am Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the world's greatest mind of this time!" Eggman declared, "But I also go by 'Dr. Eggman'."
"You are related to the doctor then," Shadow noted before barely glancing at Clove, Cassia, Sleet, and Lien-Da, "And these?"
"My Grandmasters of regions I control on Mobius, Clove and Cassia, and my Super Sonic Underground Search and Destroy Squadron, Lien-Da and Sleet," Eggman introduced before looking at Jetfire, who was being disassembled by a pair of the first Artificial Chaos they saw, "And that was my latest robot Jetfire MKII."
Shadow nodded, "You've come for the weapon that will let you rule the world."
"Exactly!" Eggman grinned.
"…" Shadow turned away and began to walk off, the Artificial Chaos scattering at a wave of his hand, "Come." One of the Artificial Chaos gurgled something, "No. The other one isn't with GUN. Don't destroy it like the first one. Unless the word 'GUN' is on them, don't destroy them." The creature gurgled before slinking off, "My apologies. Due to all the leftovers from GUN's massacre here, my pets have held a fierce animosity with all robotics."
"Um…r-right," Starscream gulped, choosing to stay closer to Eggman…not because he was afraid or anything like that utter nonsense.
=So, uh…Aside from those…er…'pets'…you've got, what else was studied up here?= Cassia asked.
"Cassia…" Clove whispered.
"It was a large variety of different areas of research. Creation of artificial intelligence and life, such as the Artificial Chaos you all saw, was merely one of the many subjects studied and worked on here," Shadow replied, surprising Lien-Da.
'The Shadow from my Zone wasn't this open…' Lien-Da noted.
"Welcome back," Shockwave greeted, "I take it everything went well in your mission?"
"Of course it did, sir," Onslaught saluted, "We've shattered the Master Emerald and made sure to grab six of the shards."
"I must say they could fetch quite a price on ThiefNet," Swindle noted, looking over the two shards he was holding.
"We're not selling them," Shockwave stated, "Leave them on the examination table I've set up over there and report to Grandmaster Maw. He'd like to show his soldiers your unique brand of teamwork."
"Sir," the five nodded as they walked out.
Once they left, Shockwave walked up to an orb embedded in the floor. It glowed before a holographic keyboard and screen appeared and devices lowered themselves to above the Master Emerald shards. On the screen, a series of numbers began to appear. To many, it'd just be a random jumble of numbers and letters. However, to Shockwave, it was easy enough to analyze.
"Fascinating…" Shockwave noted before looking over at another screen, showing Rouge, Rosie, and Fiona going through a swirling green vortex, "…Lord Eggman, we have infiltrators that managed to use the Spacebridge."
"I see…" Eggman noted under his breath and the group entered the room with the machine, its first emerald nestled into it, "Thank you for the information, Shockwave." He hung up and looked at his troops, "Be on the lookout. Lien-Da, your information about the bat using our machines to get here was right, but there's a hedgehog and a fox with her."
Lien-Da nodded, trying to hide her annoyance at yet another change. Shadow stopped before the machine, looking upon it as for metallic pods above pulsated like the beating of a heart.
"I'm rather glad that you came. It wouldn't be the same without a Robotnik here," Shadow noted, "Now, I will show the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist - Professor Gerald - has created." He pulled out the Chaos Emerald he got from Starscream, "The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind. Not many people know that the ARK contained a top-secret research facility, where weapons of mass destruction were being created." Clove softly gasped under her breath, "This is one of them; a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Codenamed: The Eclipse Cannon."
=A…A whole planet?!= Cassia gawked =Wow. Sounds like one of those ultimate doomsday weapons from one of my video games=
"Cassia, hush," Clove whispered sternly.
"Oh please. Don't compare the work of Professor Gerald's with those mundane 8 bit graphic programs," Shadow snorted before frowning, "However…it's been deactivated for some time now..." the emerald began to glow a black/red aura as it floated up to the machine, "To reactivate it…" the Chaos Emerald connected to the very top part of the 'X' on the other side of the first before the machine began to release pulses of the energy, power lines glowing all over the massive room, starting from the top of the machine and down deep below into a tunnel beneath the machine, "…large amounts of energy are necessary."
"Ah…That explains why you wanted the Chaos Emerald," Starscream noted, gulping and standing straight when Shadow glanced over his shoulder to look right at him.
"…" Shadow looked back at the machine, "To reactivate the machine, we need all seven Chaos Emeralds. Once you have that, then you have the ultimate power of destruction, to use as you please. And then…" Shadow turned and pointed right at Eggman, "The world could be yours."
"…Just could?" Eggman asked.
"You really think it'd be that simple? Rebellions would happen, uprisings," Shadow shook his head, "They'd most likely launch any space vessels to get up here to destroy it or take it for themselves. You'd need a powerful army on both the surface to destroy those ways to get up here and up here to prevent this from being taken if they do manage to get up here."
'Is everyone here smarter than the Eggman I used to work under?' Lien-Da's eye twitched.
"…Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Eggman laughed, "Quite right. It's quite a hassle. However, nothing ventured is nothing gained. So all we need to do is collect the five remaining Chaos Emeralds. Should be…"
"Doctor," Lien-Da interrupted as she pulled her whip out, "We have company."
"What?" Eggman looked at the echidna before Clove jumped up at the ceiling and threw a kick, causing Rouge, Rosie, and Fiona to jump off the panel the latter two were holding on to and land between them all.
"I was wondering when you'd notice them," Shadow noted.
"Wait. If you knew they were there, why didn't you attack?" Sleet asked.
"A chance to see if you were lying or not," Shadow replied.
"Well, so much for a 'mysterious entrance,'" Fiona noted dryly as the three readied themselves.
"Once again, good show, Lien-Da," Eggman nodded to the echidna, "I take it you heard them up there, Clove?"
"Yes," Clove nodded as she narrowed her eyes at the three intruders.
"You know that the bat is allied with those guys, right?" Lien-Da whispered.
"Yes, I remembered that you told me who she really works for, but I think I have the perfect idea," Eggman smirked as he walked up to the three outside of his walker, "Well now, a set of thieves that were able to not only find and sneak into one of my bases, but were able to use the newly developed Spacebridge that a few of my Grandmasters worked together on. While, normally, I'd have you taken care of, but this isn't my place you intruded on…" Shadow's blade settled on Rouge's neck, "It's Shadow's choice on what to do with you three, since the ARK is his home."
'He never had that before!' Rosie thought with wide eyes at the sword.
"Easy now, tough guy," Rouge noted, managing to keep a calm face despite the blade barely touching her neck, "We brought you a little something."
Fiona pulled out a blue Chaos Emerald. Shadow slowly removed his blade from Rouge's neck while Fiona placed the Emerald on the floor and backed away from it.
"You know, if she hadn't exposed us, you would've caused a jinx," Rouge went on as Shadow walked up to the Emerald and picked it up, taking it to the machine, "My girls and I may not look like it, but we're quite a team of treasure hunters that specialize in jewels of all varieties."
"Oh, really now?" Eggman questioned, "So you must know where the other Chaos Emeralds are."
Rouge held up a printed paper, "According to my sources, the Guardian Unit of Nations, or GUN for short, have obtained three of the Emeralds through some rather… behind the bar methods, if you know what I mean. They've taken them to a place called Prison Island, a combination of a prison, armory, and research facility."
'Those sources being GUN themselves,' Eggman thought, "Well then…What's in it for you then? You can't be doing this out of the good of your heart and I do not pay in gems. Not after that last time."
"Oh, for one simple reason," Rouge replied as she motioned to Fiona, "My gal here lost something very important to her because of GUN's machinations with getting one of those Emeralds."
"…" Shadow looked over his shoulder at Fiona, who was rubbing an arm with an annoyed, saddened, angered expression, "…When do we leave?"
"What? But, Shadow, how can you…" Eggman began before Lien-Da whispered into his ear, "Why should I care that the eldest prince in locked up there? In fact, that's good for us, isn't it?" she whispered a bit more, "…oh. And based on the differences, his 'rescue team' will be larger or stronger than the one you handled back then." He nodded slowly, "Well then…" he walked back to his walker and got into it, "Shockwave."
=Yes, Lord Eggman=
"Inform Maw that I require him and some of his best assault troops," Eggman ordered, "They are to meet us at the coordinates I will be giving to you in one hour. Oh, and Jetfire MKII was destroyed. Get to work on MKIII and keep on the lookout for MKI and his twin Jetstorm. I still want them scrapped.."
=Understood=
"Well then. I do hope for your sakes that there are Chaos Emeralds there," Eggman informed before pressing a button on his machine, "Because if not…" before the three could do anything, a collar shot out and wrapped around Rouge's neck while arm bands ensnared the right arms of Fiona and Rosie, "…These bombs that are strapped to you will go off with the force of 100 sticks of dynamite."
'He never did this before…' Rosie thought as she looked at the band on her arm with wide, worried eyes.
"Now then, we have an hour, so let's start planning," Eggman grinned.
"Well, here we are at Prison Island," Sam noted once he and Sonia hopped out of the DeSoto.
"Uh, Uncle Sam? This is a jungle," Sonia pointed out.
"…Gosh dang it to heck," Sam frowned, taking his hat off and scratching the top of his head, "I must have been distracted with my detailed retelling of the last case Azure, Max, and I shared before his wedding to Aleena and ended up coming out on the wrong side of Prison Island."
"YAAAAAAAH!"
"What was that?!" Sonia yelped before something shot out of the foliage and slammed onto the hood of the DeSoto and began to bang on it with a boomerang.
"AH!" Sam yelped, reaching out and managing to grab onto the figure attacking the car.
The figure was a Mobian badger that was slightly shorter than Sonia. She had orange fur with long thick hair on the back of her head, which she kept in two locks with auburn strings, and two brown stripes across each of her eyes and bushy round ears that reached the end of her hair. Additionally, she had a peach muzzle with a small black nose, blue eyes and a medium-long bushy tail.
Her attire consisted of a tube top stretched on her ample C-Cups/borderline D-Cups and a skirt with an auburn rope belt, each made of worn-down grey fabric stitched together, and tan fur-skin boots, one which had a fur cuff and the other which had metal bands on it. As accessories, she wore a golden band on her right upper arm, a spiral bracelet on her left wrist, and a necklace braided with seashells and a gold ring. In her hand was a boomerang.
"Die, you weird metal fish on land!" the badger screamed, trying to attack the Desoto despite Sam's hold on the nape of her neck.
"Easy there, little lady! That's my car, not a metal fish!" Sam argued.
"…What's a 'ka-rawr?'" the badger asked, pausing her attempt to attack the DeSoto.
"Why, my DeSoto is a car," Sam replied, patting the hood of the DeSoto, "Couldn't go anywhere without her."
"But you just moved over to it now," the badger noted.
"…Heh-heh-heh," Sam chuckled as he patted her head, "You remind me of Max when we were five." He dropped the badger, "I'm Sam, and this is my honorary niece, Sonia."
"Hello," Sonia greeted before the badger sniffed her, "Uh…"
"You don't stink," the badger stated, "My name's Sticks."
"So tell us, Sticks, do you happen to know the way to a top secret military prison that's on this island?" Sam asked.
"Nope," Sticks shook her head, "But I do know about this weird shiny place that keeps setting off these loud things and somehow hurting the jungle with the loud things when they see me."
"Could you take us to them?" Sonia asked.
"Depends. You know how to survive in a jungle?"
"A little," Sonia replied.
"I once wrestled an alligator," Sam noted.
"Meh. Close enough for you, Sam," Stick shrugged before turning to Sonia, "Okay! The first thing you need to know is survival skills aren't about crafting and making things pretty! It's using what ya got!" with that, she turned to the jungle and began to walk off, "So come on! I'll show ya da survival skills! Go Team Sticks!"
"...Team Sticks?" Sam and Sonia repeated as they followed after her.
"So what do we know about this place?" Kevin asked.
"Hardly anything. They seem to do a thorough job of keeping everything they can about it hidden away," Rook replied as he glanced at a screen while piloting the ship the three were in, "Activating field dampeners and cloaking."
"Good idea, Rook," Gwen noted before her eyes glowed magenta for a few moments, "...I don't believe this."
"What?" the two males asked.
"Sonia's on the island with two unknowns," Gwen replied, "They're heading to the base through the jungle."
"Miss Prim and Proper's out in a jungle?" Kevin asked, raising a brow after hearing the stories about how she was from Sonic and Manic.
"I've managed to locate the OmniATV. They've settled near the base, but not too close to be detected or spotted," Rook explained.
"I'm kinda surprised that Ms. Prim and Proper is here, but Manic's a no-show," Kevin frowned.
Manic sneezed. Penelope frowned as she pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her face of the spittle.
"Sorry," Manic apologized.
"Seems someone must be talking about you," Sly noted as Bentley wheeled over to them in their base made of a cave.
"Okay, we know what needs to be done," Bentley informed as he pulled out a sphere and tossed it into the air, creating a holographic display showing photos taken by Sly doing a recon of the outside of the base, "We need to find where they're keeping Roll and Sonic here on Prison Island while avoiding capture ourselves." the screen displayed an abundance of humanoid robots, beetle-shaped robots, and a floating robot surrounded by bombs, "It seems their primary defenses are the GUN Robots. Each of them is directly linked to the alarm system, meaning that if we get spotted, these machines will trigger the alarms and we'll be swarmed with troops!" the image changed to an overhead view of the military base part of the island, "Thanks to Sly's surveillance, we've been able to get a rough layout of the area and we need to get a keycard to gain access to the inside of the base." the image changed to a keycard surrounded by question marks, "Unfortunately...I've been unable to find one at the moment. It seems that they only give them out to only ten random soldiers each day and those key cards are then returned immediately at sunset."
"Hold on, Bentley," Penelope noted as she loaded a page of the jungle part of the island, "I've managed to find one in the jungle with my RC Chopper. It seems that one of the men are out there, most likely doing a perimeter check, and is heading back to the base."
"Alright! Great work, Penelope!" Bentley beamed, "Sly, you go and see if you can steal the key card. As for you, Manic," the screen changed to show a cave hidden in foliage with a set of tire tracks on the ground going into it, "We might have a secret entrance here. I need you to go check it out and get back here as soon as you can." the screen then changed to an RC race car, "Penelope, if we can find a vent, we can use your RC to check around the vent systems to see if we can find where the prisoners here are kept."
"Can do," Penelope nodded.
"Then let's get to work!" Bentley declared as the screen was dismissed.
A pair of humanoid robots walked past a set of jungle foliage. Manic poked his head out from above, revealing he was sticking to the side of a tree with his shoes. He walked down before sneaking around until he got to the covered cave entrance. He pulled out a green and red Binocucom.
"Yo, Bentley, I'm here," Manic informed.
=Excellent work, Manic. Be careful as you go into it= Bentley advised =We have no idea who or what is in there. If we're lucky, it'll be an entrance into getting deeper into Prison Island while avoiding those robots!=
"Yeah," Manic nodded, putting away the Binocucom, as he began looking around, "And if this really is a secret entrance…" he then noticed a strange looking formation on the side of the cave, "Bingo." he cracked his knuckles before pressing the strange formation. Dust started to kick up a bit around the cave as the wall began to slowly rise up, "And there we go." He then quickly snuck in as the wall began to close again, the hedgehog pulling out his Binocucom again, "I'm in."
=Excellent, Manic. Try getting a good look around and see what you can find= Bentley advised =And be careful! There might be traps that could set off the alarms!=
"Gotcha," Manic nodded, 'Hold on, Bro, Step-sis. Help's on the way.'
"Are you crazy?!" Sonia screamed as Sam laughed, the three sliding down the hollowed inside of a massive tree on large leaves.
"If she is, I'm adopting her!" Sam declared before performing a 360 on his leaf, "WHOO!"
"This is nothing!" Sticks laughed as they were nearing the end, "I occasionally grind on the tree branches to get some speed before I grab onto a vine, giving me crazy speed!"
"Uh-oh. Uh, Sticks?"
"Yeah, Sam?"
"You are aware that the end of this trunk seems to be an endless abyss, correct?" Sam asked, seeing that ahead was a very deep pit.
"Yeah, but…" Sticks began before tossing her boomerang, hitting a lever made of twigs as an opening appeared on the side of the tree trunk, letting the three slide into it, "I know every inch of this tree, so we'll be popping up in a safe place right about…"
*SPLASH*
"UGH!" Sonia cried out as she crawled out of the lake and shook her quills/hair and began to try to get the water out of her clothes, "I should've brought the paper bag."
Sam laughed as he walked out completely soaked, a surprisingly completely dry Sticks on his shoulders, "That was exhilarating! I haven't had that much fun since last Tuesday!"
"Why? What happened last Tuesday?" Sticks asked as she hopped off his shoulder.
"Oh, just the usual. Some poor, misguided felon attempting to entice pain and suffering to thousands of people," Sam shrugged as he began to squeeze the water out of his clothes, "They were trying to use hypnosis on radios, but with the invention of the television, people are more focused on what they can see and hear instead of just hearing."
"Yeah, I'm not sure what this 'tell-a-vision' is, but it sounds like someone's gonna hypnotize everyone with it, so I'm gonna avoid that or them."
"Heh heh…" Sam chuckled at that, 'Ahh, Max would love her… She's like a female version of him…' he frowned as they walked off, 'I just hope Max is okay.'
"Hey, GUNtards! What's a guy gotta do to get some decent grub here!?" Max shouted/demanded, poking his head out of the bars in his sealed room, a collar connected to a chain on a wall on his neck, wrists, ankles, upper legs, upper arms, and both his ears.
"Oh great. He ate through his mouth bindings again," one of the guards nearby groaned.
"I'll go inform the warden," the other groaned as he walked off, "At least that one prisoner keeps quiet."
"Yeah, and has one hell of a body on h-"
"Stan!"
"What? You can't deny it, Ford!"
"Well...That should keep them long enough," Max chuckled to himself before he went over to a wall and reached behind him and pulled out a crowbar, "And lucky for me, they didn't find where I keep my stuff when they removed my tumor that let me have The Gift! If they did, I'd have to rip their spleens out and eat their eyeballs."
"...What the…? That...that's just dark," a female voice from the cell across from him noted, trying their best not to lose their lunch at the visual image.
"Oh, so she finally talks!" Max grinned as he shoved the crowbar into the loop connecting the chains to the wall, "For a minute there, I thought you were a mime. I hate those guys! What secrets they're hiding behind those white faces and their copycatting, I'll never know. BUT I WILL FIND OUT!"
"...Eh?" the voice blinked in confusion, "...Eh?!"
"But enough about me," Max smirked as he tore the loop connecting his chains off, "So, ya got a name, toots? Because I'm stuck between 'Toots,' 'Doll,' and 'Johnny.'"
"...Mai. Mai Natsume," the voice replied as they moved a bit forward, revealing themselves to Max.
The figure was a young woman, perhaps entering her early twenties. Her long, blue hair went down to her knees in a ponytail with a pair of antennae made of her hair. She was wearing an orange prisoner's uniform, yet it hugged her curves, showing her large bosom and peach bottom's curves off.
"Glad to hear," Max beamed, "Name's Max, Freelance Police! And don't you dare call me a bunny! I am a Lagomorph!" he readied his crowbar like a bat and swung it at the bars, "FOUR!"
*BZZZRT*
"A-Are you okay?" Mai asked.
Max coughed, covered in soot as his crowbar turned to ashes, while the bars sparked a little, "Never better…" He quickly shook off the ashes, "So, what did you do to get arrested and put here? Killed an officer with that rockin' bod of yours?
"Wh-What?! No!" Mai flustered, "I have no idea! All I can remember was seeing this bright light in the sky and next thing I know, I'm waking up in this cell."
"Seriously? They arrested ya for nothing? Wow...talk about paranoid."
"I guess it's because I showed up out of nowhere from what they said," Mai frowned, "But what about you? Did you really rip our one of their kidneys and eat their eyes?"
"Nah. I did that to a devil," Max shrugged as he reached behind his back and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and a baseball bat, "I'm in here 'cause I didn't want to go with them after I became super powerful using a box of mystical toys that I had to destroy to save the world from an adolescent extradimensional god called Junior and almost ended up landing on him had it not been for Sam throwing one of his Doggleganers at me, killing the clone but saving me from being turned into a 50ft monstrous figure that would probably go on a planet-wide rampage for months until a tumor in my brain turned into dark matter and killed me in a saddening way with Sam unable to make a clone of me from some boogers." he sighed in content, either not noticing Mai looking at him with wide eyes or just not caring she was looking at him in disbelief, "Ah, memories~"
'...Where in the world did I end up?!' Mai mentally exclaimed before hearing a metallic clank, causing her to look and see an RC racecar with a tiny turret on its back come out of a vent, "What?"
"Huh? What's wr-?" Max began before he noticed the RC car, "...Who owns that? And where can I get one, but replacing the turrets with gatling guns and a flamethrower?"
"Okay, I think I've found where they're keeping prisoners!" Penelope exclaimed as she sat before her laptop, the screen showing the cells.
=HEY! HEY, YOU THERE! RC CAR!=
"I've been spotted!" Penelope gasped as she had the RC move around before seeing a lagomorph's white hand waving out of some cells.
=Blow up something!=
"...By one of the prisoners…" Penelope facepalmed.
=Use those turrets! I bet they could cause some major mayhem!=
"Whoever that is...well, they're right. If we blow the locks on the cells, we could cause a riot," Bentley noted before pulling out his Binocucom, "Manic, how's the cave?"
"So far so good," Manic answered as he walked through the cave, "Following the tire tracks, and haven't come across any traps or security cames y-" he stopped when he stepped in something, making him look down to see the shattered remains of a security camera, "...Uh, Bentley?"
=Yes, Manic?=
"...I think someone beat us to the punch here," Manic answered as he looked up, seeing shattered and sliced up robots, turrets, and security cameras littering the cave floor, 'And I think I got a good idea who…'
…
"Okay, now I'm seeing just why you've been able to destroy so many NOL bases," Makoto noted as Ragna ripped the head off another robot and threw the body at another, the bombs on it detonating before either could set off the alarms, "You beat up everything around you before anyone can sound the alarm."
"Of course. You'd think I...hold on," Ragna paused before he grabbed a GUN soldier trying to sneak up on him, "First off; nice try, dumbass. Second off; I have a few questions to ask you. Answer them correctly, and you may get out of this alive."
"...What makes you think I'll answer a trespasser like you?" the weasel frowned, "You'll just end up getting caught or, at worst, killed by GUN for trespassing on Prison Island."
"..." Ragna pulled out Bloodscythe and switched it into its scythe mode, a sinister expression on his face, "And now?"
"...What would you like to know?" the weasel gulped, his face a pale white as he sweated bullets.
"Good answer," Ragna smirked before pulling the GUN soldier close to him, "Now talk. Where do they keep the prisoners, and their top secret files?"
"...The...the more dangerous criminals are kept at Level 0, which is the deepest part of Prison Island," the weasel gulped, "A-And you need a keycard to access the files!"
"And do you have one?" Ragna asked.
"N-No, sir! The keycards are given out random every day!" the weasel whimpered, "B-besides, I'm just a low ranking soldier! No way would they entrust something so important to me! H-hell, even though I found that one girl that suddenly appeared in the base, no way I-"
"Girl? What girl?"
"Blue hair tied up into a ponytail, quite a figure on her...wielded a very strange lance/spear like weapon…" the weasel trailed off, the girls' eyes widening a bit at the first two parts, "She wouldn't hardly even eat the food we gave her. Something about hyper sensitive taste buds."
"I see…" Ragna nodded before collapsing his blade before slamming the flat end onto the top of the weasel's head, knocking him out before going through his clothes and taking everything he could use to contact or alarm someone before trying him up like a cow with the soldier's jacket, "Okay...it's not much, but it's a bit of a start."
"...Y...you don't think…?" Noel began with a whisper.
"Hmm?" Ragna raised a brow, looking over his shoulder to look at the girls, who had huddled together, "Something up?"
"That girl he mentioned. That….that sounds a lot like Mai…" Makoto said, mentally hoping that it really was true.
"Mai?" Ragna repeated, 'Okay...That name sounds familiar, but where did I hear it?' he saw a robot he had torn in half managing to aim its gun arm at the girls, "!"
Before he could move to attack, a blur shot out and stabbed into the robot's optic. Ragna's eyes widened as he saw the object was a drumstick.
"Ha! I knew it!" the four looked to see Manic grinned, his hand outstretched from his throw.
"Manic? What're you doing here?" Tsubaki asked in shock.
"I could ask the same of your four," Manic countered as he walked over to them, "But I'm guessing you're here for the same reason I am."
"Rescuing Sonic and Roll?" Makoto guessed.
"Bingo," Manic nodded before pulling out his Binocucom, "Bentley, we have a bit of company, and this time it's the good kind."
=Really?= Bentley pondered as Manic looked at the four with his Binocucoms =Ah! That is great, Manic! We've managed to find the prison block as well=
"How's Sly doing?" Manic asked.
Sly slid along a thin winding branch like it was a rail. At the end of the branch, he jumped off and grabbed another with the crook of his cane, using it to swing towards a natural-made platform in the massive trees of the jungle.
"Okay, judging from the map Bentley put into my Binocucom, the keycard should be nearby," Sly noted to himself, looking around with his Binocucom. He scanned the area, keeping an eye out for any guards, or anything suspicious, "Seems quiet here...better keep ready for anything."
He jumped off the natural platform, slowing his fall by digging his cane into the trunk. Once at the floor of the jungle, he hopped off and looked around, vanishing with his ancestors' technique. Just as he fully vanished, the bushes nearby rustled before Sticks walked out.
"Okay, we're almost there!" Sticks called, turning around to see Sam come out, dirtied up with sticks and leaves in his clothes.
"To think that the illegal pollution that GUN has been performing here has resulted in the abundant mutation of the local flora and fauna like this," Sam observed, "I would never have thought spiders grew to that size until now. Right, Sonia?"
"I'm just glad I remembered the knives in my heels," Sonia muttered as she came out next, webbing stuck to her.
"Eh. The spiders are nothing," Sticks shrugged, "You should check out the beetles, They're so big, you can practically ride on them!"
"No thanks," Sonia shuddered in disgust.
"Sonia?" Sly questioned in surprise.
"Ah! Ghost!" Sticks freaked as she looked around, "You won't take over my body for your freaky body changing experiments!" she poked her bosom, "Not after the last time ended up with me having these thingies!"
"Oh. Sorry," Sly chuckled as he canceled his technique.
"Holy halibuts in a hot basket! It's Sly Cooper!" Sam gasped as he pulled his gun out.
"Easy now, Uncle Sam. He's family," Sonia settled him down, using both her hands to get him to lower his gun, "Sly, Uncle Sam and our guide here, Sticks. Uncle Sam, Sticks, my cousin-in-law, Sly Cooper."
"Yo," Sly gave a two finger salute.
"...I got my eye on you," Sticks stated with a frown.
"N-"
"Not you," Sticks told Sly before pointing at his cane, "That. I don't like how it's staring at me."
"..." Sly looked over at Sonia with a raised brow.
"I'm not sure," Sonia replied.
"Wait. If he's your cousin-in-law, then who's his cousin in blood?" Sam asked, scratching his head.
"Roll," Sonia replied.
"No…" Sam gasped in disbelief, taking off his hat in surprise and causing the keycard in it to fall out, "Oops."
"Well, that makes things easier," Sly noted as Sam scooped it up while he pulled out the Binocucom, "Bentley, I've found the keycard and turns out Sonia did come, but with some friends."
"...Why's he talking to those binoculars?" Sticks whispered to Sam.
"I'm not sure," Sam replied, "You can never tell with Master Thieves."
"Really?" Sly asked in surprise, "Well…" he lowered his Binocucom, "This is rather interesting. Seems aside from Panda King, Ben, Dimitri, Murray, and Guru, we're getting the whole gang back together for this rescue mission."
"...Why?" Sonia raised a brow at that.
"Manic's here, along with Makoto and Tsubaki," Sly answered before turning to walk off, "Come on. We've set up base in a cave nearby."
"That better not have been my shiny cave," Sticks frowned, "It took me months to fill it up with all those shinies I found."
"I was really not expecting so many to be here for a rescue mission," Bentley admitted as he rolled over to everyone now in the cave, "Then again, we all have a connection with the two trapped."
"Three," Sonia corrected as she looked over at Sam, looking at the GUN base from the entrance of the cave, "Uncle Max was taken by GUN because of their last case."
"Make that four," Tsubaki added, "We just learned our friend Mai is here. How? We're not sure, but we have to rescue her, too."
"Mai? Max? Well…" eyes looked over at Penelope, who pulled out the sphere and activated its display mode, showing photos she took with her RC, including pictures of Max waving or shaking his behind at the camera and Mai, both in their cells, "Are these the two you're talking about?"
"...It...it really is her…." Noel whispered with wide eyes, "It...It's Mai-chan…"
"...What level is she/he on?" Makoto and Sam instantly asked/demanded, the two instantly before Penelope with the latter missing his hat and his sleeves pulled up once more.
"Level 1," Penelope replied, gulping nervously until Bentley moved between them and her.
"Easy now," Bentley advised as he began to display more photos, "There seems to be around fifty prisoners in here. Though I've never seen some of these Mobians. In fact, they look more like…"
"Aliens held illegally here," everyone turned to the cave entrance to see Gwen, Kevin, and Rook enter.
"What the…?!" Bentley gasped.
"Before anyone freaks…" Ragna began before Sticks screamed and ran off behind a stalagmite, "...before anyone else freaks, these are Kevin, Gwen, and Rook. Gwen is Ben's cousin."
"We saw you taking the OmniATV out with Makoto, Noel, and Tsubaki," Rook explained, "Azmuth realized you were heading here and had us follow you."
"It's been pretty good," Ragna noted, looking over at the vehicle, "Though it's been leaning to the left still in flight mode."
"I see," Rook noted as he held his chin a bit, "Going to have to fix that once we-"
"Rook. Focus on the matter at hand."
"...Apologies," Rook apologized as he cleared his throat, "Continue, Gwendolyne."
"Thank you," Gwen nodded as she walked up to the screen, "Because of these aliens they have in their prison, GUN is in a direct violation of both Plumber protocol and interstellar law. Who knows how long some of the have been in there."
"Well then," Bentley chuckled as he cracked his knuckles and fingers, "Give Penelope and me ten minutes and we should have the perfect plan. Especially now that we have a keycard."
"No problem," Sam nodded.
Maw stood in the jungle outside of the GUN base, his men from his assault on it the first time behind him while Eggman, Rouge, Rosie, Fiona, Shadow, and Lien-Da were all in a circle with him and his men.
"Having to come back isn't my idea of a vacation, sir," Maw informed, "How can you be sure their intelligence reports are correct? Why would the Chaos Emeralds be here on the island?"
"I had Lien-Da double check their information," Eggman replied.
Maw looked over at Lien-Da.
"Well, believe what you want to believe. No skin off my back if you don't," Lien-Da shrugged.
"...Very well then," Maw nodded slightly as he looked back over at Eggman, "So what is the plan, sire?"
"Hmm, very well. Very well. Let's discuss how we are going to do this," Eggman nodded, "Maw, you and your men…" the tri-animal-themed robot cleared their throat, revealing the vocal system to be female in sound, "...and women will go in first and distract GUN's military troupes, allowing Shadow to sneak in the base without being detected." he pulled out a satchel and handed it to Shadow, "Then, Shadow will enter the armory, where he will set the timer on these explosive packs in this satchel."
"How strong are they?" Maw asked.
"All together? 11.5 Megatons worth of explosives," Eggman replied.
"...That's enough to level the entire island," Maw noted, "Interesting tactics. However, I assume you made an extra precaution in case anyone tries to defuse them?"
"Of course. They'll be triggered to go off should anyone tamper with the casing," Eggman replied, "So make sure they're in places that won't be hit by explosions caused by battle."
"Understood," Shadow nodded.
"Once that is in place, we will blow up the whole island before anyone has a chance to know what hit them," Eggman smirked, his glasses giving off a glint in the sunlight coming from openings in the canopy above, "Oh, and Shadow?" he tossed the hedgehog one of his teleporters, "While you're in the armory, feel free to steal all their weapons and some of the ammo for them all so we can make more for our forces. Use this to teleport them all to Shockwave." Shadow nodded, "Meanwhile, Lien-Da, Rouge, Rosie, and Fiona will sneak into the cargo area and grab the Chaos Emeralds. That's a challenge for such a worthy treasure hunter as yourselves, isn't it bat-girl?"
Rouge did a salute with a wink.
"And if you even think of turning traitor, Lien-Da will set off the explosives on you three," Eggman warned, "So you better listen to her orders or else."
"G-got it," Rosie nodded with a slight gulp.
"You got it," Fiona nodded, keeping her face as straight as possible.
"We only have thirteen minutes to pull this mission off, and we only get one try; so don't fail me!" Eggman declared, 'And if we pull this off fast enough, I'll finally be rid of that pesky hedgehog!'
Bentley rolled up to everyone, Sticks keeping close to Sonia and Sam while keeping her eyes focused on Kevin and Gwen. Bentley pulled out the sphere and tossed it into the air, creating the holographic screen once more.
"Alright, we've put everything together and…" he tapped the screen and a photo of the island appeared, the operation's name above it, "...Operation Jailhouse Rock is in full swing!" he tapped and the screen changed to show the secret entrance in mid-opening, "We'll start with getting into the base through their hidden entrance here, lead by our master of base breaking Ragna the Bloodedge. Once there, we'll split up into three teams." he tapped and the screen changed to show a metal sphere floating in acid, "Team Alpha, made up of Sly, Manic, and Sonia, will head for Level 0 which, thanks to the access we now have to GUN's systems, is where we've discovered where Sonic and Roll are. You'll need that keycard to activate the bridge to their cell." he tapped and the screen changed to a dual shot of Max and Mai's cages, "Team Beta, made up of Makoto, Tsubaki, Noel, Sticks, and Sam, will be in charge of freeing Max and Mai." he tapped again and it showed a computer, "And finally, Team Gamma made of myself, Penelope, Kevin, Ragna, Gwen, and Rook, will make our way to the main computer in the base." he held up a USB, "Where we will install this virus into their systems which will transfer everything in their systems straight to my laptop. Good thing I made that new memory drive to increase it to 50 Terabytes of memory." he tapped and the screen showed all their vehicles, "Once all that is done, we make our way to the getaway vehicles and get off the island. All in all, it should take us no less than thirteen minutes." he dismissed the hologram and caught the sphere, "Any questions?"
"Yeah...will there be complete and utter craziness and chaos involved?" Sticks asked, "Also, everyone should have a look out for those broom things." her eyes narrowed as she looked at a broken up broom stick, "They're nothing but spies I tell you. Spies!"
"Well, when we do release Sonic, Roll, Mai, and Max, there will be some uproar and most likely the other prisoners will be set free, causing a large riot," Bentley replied, trying not to acknowledge the broom part.
"That's all I needed to hear," Sticks smiled a bit as she climbed on top of Kevin, much to his annoyance, as she pulled out her boomerang, "Let's go, Team Sticks!"
"Uh…" Bentley began.
"Just go with it," Sonia sighed, nursing a forming headache.
"Okay! Everyone ready?" Eggman ordered.
=We're in position, sire= Maw answered.
=Everything's ready on our end= Lien-Da went next.
=I'm all set up over here= Shadow replied.
"Excellent! On with the show!" Eggman ordered.
"Okay, we split up…" Bentley began as the group made their way into the base before it rumbled and alarms began to go off, "Did we trip an alarm?!"
"...No," Gwen spoke up, her eyes flashing for a moment, "Someone is attacking the base."
"Eh?!" Makoto blinked in surprise at that, "Who could be attacking…?"
"I'm not sure," Gwen replied, "But they're doing a job of attracting the soldiers and the robots here."
"Oh...well that should be easier for us, right?" Manic asked.
"Maybe," Bentley replied.
"Let's keep going with the plan then," Sly offered, "It'll be easier now that the soldiers are heading up."
"Hai," Tsubaki nodded, "We'll be heading off to where the prisoners cells are then."
"And we'll be off hacking the main computer,' Kevin added as he cracked his knuckles a bit, "Anyone sees us, we just knock them out before they can contact anyone."
"Heh. I'm going to crack more skulls than you," Ragna smirked.
"Bring it," Kevin grinned as he put his hand on the wall, covering himself in the material.
"Ah! The wall's eating him!" Sticks freaked.
"Wrong, squirt," Kevin stated as he held his hand up before it changed into a mace, "I'm an Osmosian, meaning any material I touch becomes a part of me. Kinda like a set of armor, but without the hassle."
"...Die, Person-eating wall creature!" Sticks shouted, throwing her boomerang at Kevin's face.
"Why you little…" Kevin growled before Gwen began to pull him away.
"Come on, you can be a kid later," Gwen scolded, Bentley wheeling after them with Rook and Ragna following.
"Hey! Get back here!" Sticks snapped as she attempted to chase after them, only for Sam to pick her up, "Hey! Put me down, Sam, or else he'll end up eating them!"
"I'm sure he won't do that. Walls get indigestion from aliens," Sam replied with a straight face as he walked off, Makoto, Noel, and Tsubaki following after them.
"Come on, you two," Sly smirked, holding up the keycard, "We've got some family to rescue."
"Gotcha/Got it, dude," Sonia and Manic nodded, the latter twirling his drumsticks as the three headed off.
Sonic yawned as he rested on the floor, completely bored out of his mind, as Roll sat on the ragged bed. Yacker floated about, his bioluminescence giving them a bit more light in the dark room.
"How long have we been in here?" Sonic asked.
"I'm not sure," Roll replied, "No clock in here."
"Sheesh…" Sonic rolled his eyes, "What? Were they afraid we were gonna use it to escape or something?" he sighed as he sat up, "But seriously, this blows. I didn't even do anything, and yet they arrested me for 'killing' a few guards." he looked over at her, "I'm really sorry you got wrapped up in it."
"It's fine, Sonikku," Roll assured, "As long as I'm with you, I'm fine with what happens."
Sonic nodded before a small silence fell.
"...So...What have you been humming?"
"E-Eh?" Roll looked over at him.
"When I start to go to sleep, I've been hearing you humming something," Sonic replied, "What is it? It sounds nice."
"O-Oh. Ano…" Roll blushed, "It...It's something I've been writing…"
"Oh?" Sonic raised a brow at that, his interest piqued, "Really now? ….Mind if I see it?"
"A-Ano…" Roll stammered, "W-Well, it's not really that good yet and…" she hid her face into her tail, "Oh, I'm so embarrassed!"
"Hey now. There's no reason to act like that," Sonic assured her as he stood up, walking over to her as he sat down next to the hedgefox, "I'd still like to see it. Who knows? Maybe I'll use it in our next concert." 'Hopefully once we're out of this place.'
"I...I don't have the sheet," Roll replied, "It's back in our room in the bus."
"Well, you seem to remember the tune. Wanna sing a little?" Sonic asked.
"A-Ano…"
"Come on," Sonic place a hand on hers, "I'm sure you have a great voice, Roll, if your humming is anything to go by."
"...W-well…I...I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Roll said, her blush increasing a bit as she stood up, giving a small hum as Yacker started to give a rhythmic clap with his tentacles, "Everybody''s got a thing, but some don't know how to handle~ it~. Always reaching out in vain. Just taking the things not worth having~" she looked over at Sonic, "W-Was that good?"
"...Wow….just…" Sonic whispered in awe as he began to clap, "Roll, that...that was just...wow."
"A-Arigatou," Roll blushed, "I...I've been thinking lately and, well, it's something I've been writing about my Kaa-chan when I was younger. Back when...she felt like my Kaa-chan still..."
Sonic frowned a little at the sad look passing her face. He reached out and pulled her into his lap, holding her close.
"You're an amazing girl, Roll," Sonic assured, "And let me tell you, you have got to sing that when we have another concert!"
"M-Maybe…" Roll blushed before they heard the bridge connecting, "Eh?"
"Oh come on…" Sonic groaned as he looked at the cell door, "It better not be those guys again. We were kinda having a tender moment h-" the door slid open and Sly, Manic, and Sonia ran in, "What?! Bro?! Sis?!"
"Sly-Itoko!" Roll gasped, getting out of Sonic's lap.
"We hope your stay at Hotel GUN was a relaxing experience," Sly joked as Sonia and Manic hugged Sonic, "For you now have a special escort to your vehicle home."
"...While I'm really glad to see you all, I'm really confused on why you're here," Sonic admitted as the three released the hug.
"Isn't it obvious, Bro? We're here to rescue ya," Manic replied with a smirk.
"...Does mom know about this?" Sonic asked.
"Not in the slightest bit," Manic replied, "Skye said she'd have plausible deniability."
"Manic, you are really surprising me with all these new words you're using."
"...We can leave you in here, you know," Manic deadpanned, "Besides, you're one to talk."
"Huh?"
"What's with all the formulas and stuff on the walls?"
"No idea," Sonic replied, "I keep looking at them and I get a headache."
"Yacker-chan's been taking pictures of them," Roll noted.
"Yeah. Bentley showed us the pics while we were on our way here," Sly replied.
"So let's get going," Sonia advised.
"We've freed Sonic and Roll and are on our way to the getaway," Sly informed on his Binocucom.
=Good. Unfortunately, I've got some bad news...-= Bentley replied =That person Gwen said was attacking the base...turns out its Eggman and one of his Grandmasters=
"Nice!" Sonic grinned before running off, "Might as well go watch the fireworks!"
"Ah! Sonikku, matte!" Roll yelped as she ran off after him, Yacker managing to hide in her hair before she did.
"Oh for the love of…" Sonia facepalmed.
"...Uh, Bentley? Looks like Sonic and Roll are about to intercept him."
=What?! Oh no...you need to go get them. Now!= Bentley ordered =I just detected a high number of explosives set around the island, enough to level the entire place!=
=WHAT?! But all my shinies are here!= Sticks yelped =Wait. How am I hearing you in this? Are you ghosts?!=
"Die, ghosts!" Sticks shouted, about to smash the Binocucom before Makoto swiped it.
"It's a communicator, Sticks," Tsubaki explained as Sam growled at the door terminal.
=Access denied...again. You're not that bright, are you?=
"I'll show you bright!" Sam growled, pulling his gun out and firing at the terminal, making it spark and open the door to the prison cells, "There we go. It's open." he ran into the block and shouted, "MAX!"
"Hey, that sounds like…" Max's ear twitched before poking his head out and looking down at the bottom floor from the third floor cell he was in, "SAM! UP HERE!"
"Little buddy!" Sam called out as he looked up, "Thank god you're safe!"
"Mai?" Makoto asked, ripping open a cell door.
"Who?" a Tetramand asked on the other side.
"Oops. Wrong door," Makoto blinked twice before helping him break his cuffs, "Uh...Go open the other doors because we're having a jailbreak and we need to get off the island because there are bombs."
"...No need to tell me twice, little lady," the Tetramand smirked as he cracked his knuckles before charging at a wall beside him, smashing through it and into the next cell, "JAILBREAK!"
"Ah, I love the smell of chaos in the afternoon," Max commented as he was getting a surprisingly good view of jail cells being opened up.
"Come on...where is she?" Makoto whispered as she looked through each jail cell, freeing the trapped alien, Overlander, Beastkin, or Mobian inside as they rushed out, "Mai?! Mai, are you here?!"
"...That voice…" Mai whispered as she stood up, "It can't be…" she looked to the side a bit to see Makoto tearing cell doors off.
"Mai-chan!" Noel called.
"Mai!" Tsubaki shouted.
"...Noel? Makoto? Tsubaki?" Mai blinked twice before inhaling, "HEY!"
The three looked up at the third floor, "MAI!"
"Hey, Makoto!" Max waved as the three made their way up, "So you know Tits McGee here? Great!"
"Please don't call me that," Mai pleaded, an embarrassed blush on her face before Makoto stood in front of her cell door, tearing it straight off the hinges, "Eek!"
"It really is you!" Noel exclaimed as she ran in and hugged the blue-haired girl.
"Noel!" Mai beamed, returning the hug.
"MAI~!" Makoto beamed out as she ran in, pulling the bluette, along with Noel, into a hug, "Oh man I missed you so much! ...Did you grow last time we saw each other?"
"Ugh! Makoto...can't breathe…" Mai groaned as Noel's muffled voice came from her bosom-smothered head.
"Oops. Sorry," Makoto apologized as she released the hug.
"Mai," Tsubaki spoke.
"Tsubaki!" Mai beamed as the red head helped the blue head up.
"Aw...How touching," Max sniffled before Sam shot the lock on his door and opened it, "SAM!"
"Little buddy!" Sam cheered as he pulled the lagomorph into a hug, "Aw! I missed ya!"
"Hi!" Sticks greeted.
"Sam, who's this?" Max asked.
"Her name's Sticks. She..."
"Hold on, did you replace me?! If so... 'Sam and Sticks' sounds like a weird title for a game series."
"I couldn't agree with you more, little buddy," Sam nodded, "But no."
"So you're Max, huh? A dog hanging out with a Lagomorph...sounds kinda kooky," Sticks noted, "..." she grinned, "...I like it."
"Thank you," Max nodded, "Also, finally! Someone finally got my species right!"
"Well, doi! Of course you're a Lagomorph. It's all in the ears and hands, afterall," Sticks grinned.
"Freeze!" the three turned to look at a shivering security guard, "D-Don't move!"
"...I've got this," Sticks assured before giving a battle cry and tackled the guard.
"AH! MY SPLEEN!"
"...Sam?"
"Yes, little buddy?"
"I think I'm in love…"
"She's probably a third your age."
"Oh," Max's ears drooped before going back up, "...Can we adopt?"
"I was planning on doing so once this was all done."
"YES!" Max cheered, throwing his hands into the air in glee.
"Uh, who are these guys?" Mai asked.
"Sam and Max, Freelance Police," Makoto replied, "It's a long story and we don't have much time." she ran over to the railing and inhaled, "HEY!" the prisoners looked up at her, "We all need to get off this island right now! I just learned that they're planning on blowing up this place sky high! Let's get going!"
"Bentley, we've freed the prisoners," Tsubaki informed as she looked at her Binocucom, "Is everything good on your end?"
=Yes, and I figured out why Eggman is here. Turns out there's three Chaos Emerald hidden in the base= Bentley answered.
"Three?! Wait...why would GUN…?"
=Worry about that later. For now, you need to escape before the bombs go off=
"...Understood," Tsubaki nodded before looking back at her friends, "We need to go. Now."
"Wait. What about m-" Mai began before a Splixson walked up to her, handing her a set of clothes and a strange looking spear, "My stuff?"
"Figured these belonged to you," he explained.
"The shirt's still in the undecided territory!"
"Number 27!" the Splixson snapped at a copy of him working on opening another cell, "Hand it over!"
"Hand what over?"
"..."
"...doh fine…" 27 grumbled as he ran over and pulled out a piece of fabric.
"...That's a shirt?" Tsubaki asked.
"See?" 27 gloated before the original slapped him on the back of head, making both yelp.
"It came with the outfit when I joined Sector Seven with Cajun," Mai explained.
"You joined what?!" Tsubaki gawked before facepalming, "Ugh! I hate being without memories after the academy! Makoto, d..."
"I honestly did not know this," Makoto countered while mentally frowning, 'God damn it, Kokonoe! You didn't tell me Mai and Cajun were members of Sector Seven too!'
"Wait, what was that about your memories?" Mai blinked twice.
"Run now, talk later," Sam advised, "Remember that there are bombs here!"
"Whee! I can't wait for the explosion!" Max cheered as he followed after Sam, Sticks following up with the soldier's helmet on her head.
"...How fast can you change, Mai?"
"Enough for us to hurry out of here," Mai quickly advised as she ran back into her cell to get changed.
"Anyone looks, and they'll get a black eye!" Makoto warned the fleeing prisoners before walking into the cell as well, "And now to see h-"
"Makoto…"
"Aw, come on, Tsubaki…."
"This is a serious situation. No groping," Tsubaki sternly ordered, crossing her arms under her chest with an even glare settled on her.
"Ugh! Fine…" Makoto pouted.
"Okay. I've got all the stuff they had," Bentley informed as he removed the USB.
"Good to hear," Kevin noted as he knocked out a guard, "That makes number twenty five, Bloodedge. I w-" he blinked as he noticed the pile of guards Ragna was sitting on top of.
"Sorry, what were you saying? I can't hear over the eighty-six that I'm sitting on," the shit-eating smug look on Ragna's face said otherwise, "Now payup."
"...Damn it. Fine.." Kevin muttered as he reached into his pocket.
"You made a bet?"
"Whoever knocked out the most guards gets the loser's money," Kevin groaned as he handed Ragna his winnings, "Damn it...was gonna buy some new car parts for with that."
"Good idea," Ragna nodded, "The turning's been off with Alpha's truck lately."
"Uh, guys? I just used my RC Chopper to look at one of the bombs. We only have ten minutes left to get off the island!" Penelope shouted.
"And there is the matter with the Grandmaster of Robotnik still at hand," Rook added, "I noticed him while Penelope was doing a scan of the island. I was unaware that there were Thylacines here."
"Thy-what now?" Ragna and Kevin asked.
"A species of tiger," Gwen explained, "But Penelope's right. We need to hurry out of here a-."
"FREEZE!" the group turned to see a few GUN soldiers aiming at them, "You're all under arrest for trespassing on GUN protected property. That includes you Plumbers as well!" the leader added, saying 'Plumbers' like it was a nasty venom in his mouth.
"Seems they know us," Kevin noted.
"Seems like it," Gwen agreed.
"Anyone siding with aliens is nothing but a filthy traitor to their own kind!" the leader of thee soldiers shouted, "That's what our commander truly believes, seeing aliens as nothing but destroyers."
"..." Ragna snorted, "Time me."
"Uh...Okay?" Bentley blinked twice as Ragna walked up to them, cracking his knuckles.
"Fire!" the leader shouted.
"DEAD SPIKE!" Ragna roared, the summoned beast's head blocking all the shots before he jumped over it.
"Don't make a move! Or e-" the leader began before Ragna grab the front of his gun, crushing it tightly, "...Please fix that. I kinda need that to flee from you."
"No. Also…" his emblem briefly appeared, "Carnage…" he swung his bloodscythe twice, releasing a massive pair of scissors made of the black and red energy that struck the soldiers, sending them scattered with a multitude of injuries, "SCISSORS!" he turned to Bentley, the soldiers all falling into a pile, knocked out and bleeding, "Time?"
"Uh...Ten seconds."
"...Now I'm really glad you didn't know how to do that when I was twelve," Kevin noted.
"Noted. Now let's get out of here," Ragna stated as she sheathed his weapon.
"Ugh! Where the hell did they go?!" Makoto groaned, the four girls entering a large room with four doorways.
"Um...I think we went the wrong way," Mai noted.
"...How is that a shirt?" Tsubaki questioned, looking at the white cloth that covered Mai's chest that was tied in the back and into a collar on her neck while she wore hip-hugging short-pants, "And...And where are your panties?"
"They're there…" Mai answered before sighing a bit, "It's...a thong."
"A...A what?" Makoto began to get a large smile on her face.
"It was the only thing they had in my size!" Mai exclaimed, a blush on her face.
"U-Uh…" Noel spoke up, looking up at a vent as she saw the vent move a bit.
"What's up?" Makoto asked.
Her response was the grate of the vent crashing onto the floor. Rouge flew down from the opening as Lien-Da, Rosie, and Fiona jumped down.
"And all in under three minutes," Rouge smirked, reaching into her cleavage and pulling out the light-blue, red, and purple Chaos Emeralds.
"...More weird Beastkin?" Mai pondered.
"Mobians," Tsubaki corrected.
"Hey!" the two looked at Makoto, "Those are Chaos Emeralds!"
"Huh?" the four Mobians looked at the girls.
"Oh great. You all again?" Lien-Da questioned before seeing Mai, "...And now they have a girl with blue hair. What is this, some sort of human gender flipped version of three guys I really hate and one human species flipped version of a bitchy princess I hate?"
"...Wait...You're an echidna!" Makoto quickly noted as she pointed at Lien-Da.
"No shit," Lien-Da scoffed at that.
"But...I thought Knuckles was the last Echidna on Mobius," Makoto blinked.
"Correction. Was the last Echidna before I came here," Lien-Da stated before muttering to herself, "Which means the Knuckles from my original Zone truly is the last Echidna…"
"Huh?" Fiona looked at Lien-Da.
"We're not letting Eggman get those!" Makoto declared.
"...Heh. Sorry but.." Lien-Da began as she pulled her whip out, "Afraid we can't let ya do that."
"Hope you're ready for a fight," Rouge smirked as she put them back into her cleavage.
"Because we're gonna give you a good one," Rosie grinned as she pulled out a pair of metal boxing gloves that sparked with electricity while Fiona pulled out a collapsible bo staff that sparked at the ends.
"...So that's how it's gonna be huh….okay," Makoto grinned as she pulled out her tonfa and straped them on, "I'm game."
"I don't know what's going on here, but…" Mai began as she brought out her spear, twilring it a bit as she got in a battle position, "I can tell you're not the good guys."
"No….what gave that away?" Lien-Da asked with a smirk.
"Perhaps the S and M-like clothes you have on?" Mai countered a bit.
"This coming from a girl wearing just a piece of cloth on her chest," Lien-Da smirked before the doors slammed shut, "What?!"
=Attention criminals and trespassers…= the two groups slowly turned to see a large flying mech hovering before them =Stay right where you are. You're all under arrest for trespassing on GUN property, thievery, and assist in releasing our prisoners=
"Oh great…" Rouge facepalmed as metal fences rose up, "The R-1/A Flying Dog."
=Any resistance and we will shoot you and bring you in for questions...before killing you or keeping you locked up to keep our secrets safe= Makoto's left tonfa bonked off the cockpit, making it move back a bit =...This is Flying Dog to headquarters. Intruder found entering security vault. Preparing to attack=
=Copy that=
"Why'd you do that?" Fiona groaned.
"They're threatening us with a giant mech, and want to keep us prisoner and possibly kill us to keep their secrets," Makoto countered as she caught her tonfa, "I don't see you coming up with anything."
"...Fair point," Rosie nodded.
"Incoming!" Tsubaki shouted, moving in front of the girls and summoning her sword and shield, letting the shield expand to protect them from the bullets fire from the overhead sweep of Flying Dog.
"Huh? That's new," Mai noted.
"I traded in," Tsubaki explained.
"...Fair enough," Mai nodded before she noticed a turret aiming at them from the mech, "...Hold on."
"Hmm?" Tsubaki raised a brow as Mai tossed her spear, the mech moving out of the way as it flew past it.
"Uh, you just m-" Fiona began before, much to everyone's shock, the spear changed directions as it pierced through the turret, shattering it as Mai quickly caught her weapon, "...What the hell just happened?"
"It's my weapon," Mai answered, "It…"
=Preparing for counter attack!=
"...Explanations for later then," Mai said as the group prepared themselves.
"Right," Makoto nodded as panels opened up on Flying Dog, "Huh?"
=Firing missiles=
"Missiles?!" Mai exclaimed.
"Noel?" Tsubaki offered.
"H-hai!" Noel quickly nodded as she summoned Bolverk.
"Fiona!" Rouge called.
"Rodger," Fiona nodded.
=FIRE!= the pilot declared as the missiles flew out, heading straight for the girls.
"Kore wa...juudaina...EKKEN KOUDESU!" Noel shouted before combining her guns into a single large chaingun, "Zero-Gun: Fenrir!"
Fiona aimed one end of her bo staff at the incoming missiles and pressed a red button on her staff. At the same time, Noel pulled the trigger of her chaingun. Plasma shots and balls of blue electricity shot out and blew up the missiles with a few shots of plasma slamming into Flying Dog.
=Gah! Warning! Flying Dog has received damage! Power is at 75%!=
"Nice shot," Fiona commented as she looked at Noel..
"Oh! Th-Thanks," Noel sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, Bolverk dismissed.
"Hey!" Makoto called, earning Rosie's attention, "Hedgehog in the cockpit?"
Rosie ran over to Makoto and jumped. She landed on Makoto's fist as she swung a punch at Flying Dog, sending the hedgehog rocketing into the air above Flying Dog. Rosie cried out as she fell and slammed her fist into Flying Dog, her electric coated gloves tearing through one of the missile launchers on it.
=Ahh! Flying dog is at 50% p-oh nononononon-= the pilot panicked as Rosie reached for the cockpit and began pounding on the glass =Mayday! Mayday! I am under attack!=
Rouge smirked before she took flight over the machine. For a brief moment, an emblem appeared behind her, resembling a large emerald surrounded by bats connected by a string of pearls. A black aura came off her boots before she spun around, becoming a drill.
"Dark Spiral!" Rouge declared as she shot down.
Rosie jumped out of the way just before Rouge tore through the other missile launcher.
'...Was that a Distortion Drive?' Noel and her friends thought in slight surprise.
=Flying Dog is at 25% power!= the pilot began to freak =H-How is this possible?!=
"Got anything else with that spear, Mai?" Makoto asked.
"Well...I do have this one move…" Mai trailed off.
"Wwll what're you waiting for? Use it and end this thing!"
"...Hai," Mai nodded as she got into a jumping position, a symbol, resembling a heart made of a black angel wing and a white angel wing with her spear going through it, faintly appearing behind her as rose pink energy gathered around her spear, "Sylvan…" she jumped high into the air, landing on the ceiling before shooting down at Flying Dog and pierced right through it, bits of energies looking like cherry blossoms faintly coming off her spear as Flying Dog began to spark, "Hurricane Assault!"
'What. the. Hell?' Lien-Da thought in surprise as sparks came off Flying Dog as it began to start exploding in places.
=It's just not possible! Flying Dog can't be destroyed!= the pilot screamed before Flying Dog erupted in a large explosion.
"Oh man...that was scary for a moment there," Mai sighed a bit in relief.
"That...was...AWESOME!" Makoto whooped as she ran over and tackled Mai into a hug from behind, "Oh my god! You went through it like Sonic goes through 'bots when he breaks the sound barrier!"
"Eh heh...thanks," Mai sheepishly chuckled, "I've had a lot of pr-"
*Grope*
"Eep!"
"Oh-hoh-hoh~ G-Cup? You've really leveled up since we last saw each other!" Makoto teased.
"M-Makoto~!" Mai groaned.
"Uh...I hate it to break it to everyone, but the doors aren't opening," Fiona called.
"What?!" Noel gasped before looking at a corner and squeaked, "A bomb!"
"What?!" Rosie squeaked out as the others noticed it.
"There's only eight minutes left," Rouge gasped.
"Bentley?! Bentley can you hear me?!" Tsubaki called into the Binocucom, only to get no response, "Damn...there must be a jamming signal blocking us."
"I can't believe we've come this far... just to fail," Rouge sighed before a clatter made them look to see a handheld radio managed to survive the explosion.
Shadow looked out at the sea on the other side of the island.
=This is Rouge. We've got a small problem... I can't believe that we're trapped inside this locked safe with the Chaos Emeralds! I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore…= Rouge's voice came from the radio in his hand.
Shadow snorted, "The fool…" he turned to resume look at the ocean before his mind flashed to an image of a young girl, trying to stay standing by a console, breathing heavily, "...Ah…" he turned to the jungle and rocketed into it, "Shoot. Troublemaker!"
=Shadow? Shadow, what's going on?!= Eggman demanded over the radio.
"Rouge and her team have been sealed up in one of the safes. I'm heading to their location now."
=Well, hurry up! We have seven minutes and 46 seconds!=
"Got it," Shadow nodded as he went faster, nearly becoming a black and red blur as he blasted through the jungle.
"Sonikku, why did we do that?!" Roll demanded.
"Sorry. Got a little stir crazy and when I got the opportunity to run, I just had to," Sonic apologized before the two heard something land nearby, causing them to look to see Shadow on a branch near them, "Hey, that's…!"
"That blue hedgehog again, of all places!" Shadow growled.
"I found you, Ben, you Faker!" Sonic declared.
"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me? You're not even good enough to be my fake!" Shadow declared.
"I'll make you eat those words!" Sonic declared as the two jumped at each other, colliding with one another in curled up states before landing on the ground and charging at one another, trading punches and kicks with one another in a blur.
=Shadow, what are you doing?!= Eggman snapped from the radio =Get back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!=
"Blows up?!" Sonic exclaimed, the two jumping back from each other.
"Nani?!" Roll gasped.
"...Tch...grr…" Shadow growled a bit as he glared at the two before looking off to the distance, "...We'll settle this another time, Faker."
"Wait! Ben!" Sonic shouted before Shadow shot off as a black and red blur, "Darn it!"
"There you guys are!" the two jumped and turned to see Max, Sam, and Sticks.
"Uncle Sam? Uncle Max?" Sonic blinked twice before Sticks sniffed him and Roll, "Uh…"
"You two don't smell bad," Sticks stated.
"...We are adopting her as soon as we can, Sam!" Max declared.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sonic asked.
"Rescuing Max and now finding you after Sly, Manic and Sonia said you ran off," Sam replied before taking out a pair of Binocucom, "Bentley, we found them. We're near the DeSoto, so we'll take them in it."
=Okay. Meet us at these coordinates once you get off the island= Bentley replied.
=And tell Roll she forgot her katana!= Manic added.
=Can do= Sam replied before they heard him say =Come on, you two. We've got to get to the DeSoto. I've got paper bags for us all= before it disconnected.
"Punch it, Bentley!" Sly called as he closed the back door shut.
Bentley revved the engine before their getaway van flew off, Manic and Sonia with the three. At the Plumber Ship, Rook was starting everything up as Ragna paced.
"Where the hell are they?" Ragna scowled.
"...They're trapped inside the base," Gwen frowned, her eyes glowing magenta as she sat Seiza position, "I...Ah!"
"What?" Kevin asked.
"Something fast just got into the base. I...I think it's Shadow!" Gwen gasped.
"Ben?" Kevin and Ragna asked as Rook had the ship take off.
"He...he's closing in fast on the girls' position," Gwen panted before she collapsed.
"Gwen!" Kevin gasped as he caught her in her fall.
"What happened?" Ragna questioned.
"She exhausted herself," Kevin frowned.
"Well, we have thirty seconds left," Rouge noted before she kicked one of the metal fences, caving it in, "Damn it! I never got to collect all the gems in the world!"
"I never got to eat Noel's cooking again!" Mai cried.
"I never got to cook for everyone back at Mobotropolis!" Noel screamed.
"I never got to tell Ben how I feel!" Makoto exclaimed before covering her mouth, "?!"
"...What?" Mai blinked.
"Forget you heard that," Makoto quickly said.
"Ano…" Mai blinked twice, "Who's Ben?"
"Ma…" Makoto began before one of the doors exploded and Shadow erupted from the smoke.
"Shadow!" Rouge called, throwing a Chaos Emerald to him as the timer reached five seconds.
"Chaos…" Shadow grabbed the Emerald, "CONTROL!"
All was calm. Eggman's surprise attack was repelled, yet GUN had lost all their prisoners. For a moment, Prison Island was quiet and still.
*KRAKABOOOOOOOOOM*
What once was the giant prison now stood a giant explosion, incinerating everything within its path as the island began to sink into the ocean. Bentley and Rook grunted as the shockwave of the explosion almost caused them to lose control of their flying vehicles. Inside Rook's ship, Ragna grit his teeth.
'Damn it…' Ragna thought, 'We saved two of them...but now we've lost four.'
GT: Whew. Finally done with this.
SZ: Indeed, but...hoo boy.
GT: Yeah. A lot of ups and downs with this chapter.
SZ: Yeah. Sonic and Roll are out of jail, but….looks like we just lost Makoto and the rest of Team Remix Heart.
GT: Indeed. Just means that…
?: Ahem.
GT and SZ: *turn to see Professor Kokonoe glaring at them*
GT: ...Has it been five chapters already?
Kokonoe: *nods* Omake. Now.
GT: ...Take it away.
SZ: Hai. *pulls screen down*
Help Me! Professor Kokonoe! (Chibi style Omake)
Starring: Kokonoe, Tager, Skye Sakurai, Makoto Nanaya
The curtain lifted, revealing something of a dark unlit lab…Said lab being somewhat messy. Then a spotlight sparked to life, revealing a fairly young adult catgirl with a slim body, wearing a large scientist like jacket with abnormally long sleeves that end up looking like paws, with cuts made in them allowing her slender arms to slip through, red pants with two long pink tails with white tips coming from the back, and high-heeled sandals. Her hair was pink, tied in a style consisting of a long ponytail backing up longer tufts resembling large cat ears which tend to overshadow her actual cat ears. Her eyes were a golden-amber with visible bags under them, possibly due to over-working, and she was also wearing glasses. With a certain elegance, she began to speak.
"Hello lost children. I am Professor Kokonoe, lord and master of the Sector Seven laboratory," She paused to push her glasses back into place briefly, and then began to speak again, "…Well, OK, we aren't in the lab at the moment. This place can sort of be temporarily moved into the Boundary. Well, simply put, it's a mysterious room. A mysterious room where you can do anything you want. To be honest, it's a paradise for all those sad, little children who couldn't make it to the true ending. A sort of Avalon. If you're one of those nutbars who's all 'I don't need help,' or 'I want to unlock hidden stuff,' or 'I'll just look for a flowchart online,' then you can piss off."
She proceeded to sigh.
"Anyway, my job here more or less is to do three things every five chapters. First: Answer common questions that I believe most people are asking. Second: To do a little re-cap of what happened in the past five chapters for you idiots who decide to skip them to get to the good parts in later chapters. And finally, give out supporting information to further your understanding of the terms of BlazBlue and Ben 10," Kokonoe proceeded to glare at you, "One thing I would like to make clear now, is that none of the actions in this segment are considered canon to the story, regardless of how crazy, funny, or even lovey-dovey it is. If I get one message asking about if this was canon or not, I'm castrating the sender of said message with a cattle prod and a rusty knife!"
Kokonoe proceeded to sigh once more. It was rather repetitive for her at that point. She began to speak yet again to you, the reader.
"Very well. Now that that's out of the way, lost children of the day…you may enter," She ordered, and suddenly the whole lab lit up and Kokonoe took a few steps back.
As if on cue, the sound of a metal door sliding open echoed in the area. Makoto stumbled into it as Skye followed her, sipping a cup of hot cocoa while reading a book with reading glasses on.
"Ahem!"
"Hmm?" Sky blinked twice before noticing Kokonoe, "Oh, my apologies," Skye apologized as he put his book away and tucked his reading glasses into a coat pocket, "..." he looked around, "I'm going to guess and say we're in some sort of in-between area where our freedom lies in you giving us advice or we assist you, correct?"
"More or less, yes," Kokonoe nodded before looking at Makoto, "Also, been a while, Nanaya."
"H-Huh? Professor Kokonoe?" Makoto groaned as she got up, "Ah! The bomb!"
"Calm your tits," Kokonoe frowned, "Right now, you're having a bit of a spiritual moment. Probably due to the bomb, but yeah. Anyways, here's the drill. Responding to questions, recap, bonus info, all that shit."
"...And you're not gonna let us leave until we do all that?" Skye guessed.
"Bingo, blondie," Kokonoe answered.
"Okay. So let's get on with it," Makoto replied.
"Nope."
"But you just said…" Makoto began.
"Not until you explain yourself. Or, rather, your shelf," Kokonoe replied.
"Eh?"
"Your tatas. Your sweater puppies. Your melons."
"..."
"Your breasts, dumbass!" Kokonoe snapped, an anger mark on her head.
"My boobs? What do you mean about them?" Makoto asked as Skye walked over to Tager and sat at the offered seat, putting his glasses back on and continued to read his book to wait through this.
"Oh gee? I don't know…" Kokonoe began as she pulled down a size chart, "Maybe it's because yours are the biggests in the entire BlazBlue series, right next to Litchi, Mai, Bullet, And Taok-Taokaka?!"
"Huh? Tao's got big boobs too?" Makoto pondered, "Huh. Never thought she did with her under that cloak all the time…"
"I...b….Grr!" Kokonoe growled out as she tossed away the size chart, "My point is-is that your breasts are huge! How did you get them to be that big?!"
"Sorry. Nanaya family secret."
"WHAT?!" Kokonoe snapped, "You….ugh. Nevermind…Moving onto the questions before I lose my patience with you, Nanaya."
QUESTIONS
"..." Skye looked at both reviews from Raidentensho, "No, we are not using the Cyber Planet Keys. No, Tails will not be making the combiner set Superion. There may be cameos of other KR references, but it's up in the air on if they'll appear or just be mentioned." he then looked at the lone question in Ultimate-Zelda-fan's review, "No. No it was not a purposeful one. GammaTron's never seen anything by them nor does he wish to."
"Damn, you're fast," Kokonoe noted.
"When you live around women for several years, you catch on to quick answers," Skye replied, taking a sip of his hot cocoa, "Next category, please."
RECAP
"As you all know in chapter 35 and 36, things were starting to look good with the construction of Mobotopolis. However…" Kokonoe paused sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Shit started going down when Techadon robots started going after Ben in the former, and two someones from his past having recently appeared in the latter….along with the info that our home planet was destroyed because of a pissed off To'kustar."
"Don't remind me…" Makoto sighed.
"It seems that Rook and Aleena had a plan on the latter to have Ragna and Ben far away from the area. They didn't count on the two being assigned as liaisons for the Plumbers to her highness," Skye noted.
"Tell me about it…" Kokonoe muttered, "In Chapter 37, a Techadon Weapon Master came after Ben and ended up unlocking the Master Control...which results in Ben, like a dumbass, transform into a form that ended up taking him over completely...Shadow the Hedgehog."
"You want the ship and factory stuck on the planet due to the Weapon Master's death by Shadow," Skye stated.
"She's been kissing pictures of them before bed," Tager noted.
"SHUT UP!" Kokonoe snapped, blushing with anger marks appearing on her head, "Ahem! Anyways...the moment Ben turned into Shadow...a lot of events started to happen, such as in the next chapter, Sonic ends up getting arrested by GUN for 'killing a bunch of officers and stealing a valuable object'."
"Which was Shadow's doing, having been witnessed by Sly, Bentley, and Penelope," Skye noted, "With everything that's been happening, Manic was in a depression and went to talk with Ferral, who helped get him back to snuff and contact the Cooper Gang to help him break out Sonic and my baby girl, who had to go with Sonic due to the rules of Ryugu women who've kissed someone that saved them, while Sonia called her honorary uncle Sam, whom GUN just kidnapped Max from resulting in Sam's Noir self to come out when away from family."
"While that was happening, Ragna the Bloodedge, along with myself, Noel, and Tsubaki, headed out ourselves to go rescue Sonic and Roll," Makoto added, "Yeah...pretty much everyone was mobilizing to go get Sonic and Roll out from Prison Island."
"And while all this was happening, Eggman was busy looking up stuff about his grandfather thanks to one of his recent Grandmasters, Rodyle," Kokonoe stated, "He pretty much found out everything once he encountered Shadow. The Ark, the reason why he's been collecting Chaos Emeralds, and to top it off...the Eclipse Cannon."
"A weapon capable of destroying planets when all seven Chaos Emeralds are installed," Skye noted, "Hmm…"
"Hey, what are you doing?" Kokonoe demanded as Skye typed on her computer before a simulation appeared on the screen, showing Skye putting a large array of mirrors together before the blast of the Eclipse Cannon hit it, sending the blast back into the sky, "...That's not pure light, you know."
"I know," Skye replied before pointing at a laughing Makoto, "But she needed a laugh."
"Well stop touching it, dammit!" Kokonoe frowned.
"Right, right, right. Anyways, after Shadow explained about it all, Lien-Da and Clove exposed a trio of girls named Rouge, Rosie, and Fiona," Skye went on as he turned off the simulation, "The trio had earlier attempted to steal the Master Emerald, but the Combaticons destroyed it for reasons unknown, causing Knuckles to go off to find them with Tikal as a travel companion while Chaos and Chomp stayed to guard the downed island. Long story short, the trio-because of Lien-Da telling what happened in her time with Rouge-now have these bombs stuck on them that Eggman can set off at anytime he wants if they betray him."
"At the same time Eggman was assembling his team for Prison Island, the other groups arrived at said location, Sonia and Sam meeting…" Kokonoe paused as her eye began to twitch, "Sticks…"
"It seems that Sam has bonded with her from just the first few words they spoke to another another," Skye chuckled, "While Sticks was leading them through the island's jungle, the Cooper Gang plus Manic were going through planning. Bentley had Manic check out a hidden cave entrance, Sly check on a keycard signal they found in the jungle, and Penelope have her RC go through the vents to find the prison blocks."
"As for me and my team, we had just arrived to rescue Sonic and Roll before we ended up running into Manic, and heard that Mai was trapped there….which reminds me…" Makoto frowned as she looked at Kokonoe, "Why didn't you tell me Mai and Cajun are part of Sector Seven?!"
"You never asked."
"...She's got a point, you know," Skye admitted.
"No! I call bullshit on that! I demand to know why…"
"Moving on."
"Damn you…" Makoto frowned in annoyance at that.
"At the same time, Sly discovered 'Team Sticks,'" Skye paused to chuckle under his breath, "Team Sticks...Ah, that girl is so cheeky."
"Ahem," Kokonoe cleared her throat.
"Oh. Right. Well, after all that, they regrouped at the temporary base of the Cooper Gang where Gwen, Kevin, and Rook arrived just in time to see the pictures of the prisoners," Skye noted before taking a sip of his hot cocoa, "It seems GUN is in severe violation of quite a few things due to holding aliens prisoner."
"The guys are Anti-alien, especially the leader. What do you expect?" Kokonoe deadpanned.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...How long?" Kokonoe sighed.
"Depends on the volume you want," Skye replied.
"...Ugh. Six…"
"Fifty-seven chapters on ten different theories and counter-theories of what I expected."
"...Okay, I am never underestimating Roll's stories about you," Makoto gawked as Skye simply drank his hot cocoa, "A-Anyway, just as we were starting our plan, Eggman started his."
"He had Lien-Da and her team steal the Chaos Emeralds, Maw and himself create a distraction, and Shadow plant bombs that were strong enough to level the entire island," Kokonoe went next, "Huh….have to admit, it was an interesting plan. Though I personally would've used a-"
"Ahem! Kokonoe?" Tager spoke up.
"Fine, fine…" Kokonoe sighed a bit, "At the same time, Sly and the others were just getting ready with their plan. Makoto and her team going to go rescue Mai and that crazy ass Lagomorph Max, creating a prison riot in the process, while Bentley and his team went to get all the data in the place and Sly, Sonia, and Manic going to rescue Sonic and Roll...and that Wisp."
"No," Skye stated.
"But…"
"No."
"I…"
"You may."
"Really?"
"If you beat me at chess."
"DEAL!"
*two hours later*
"Checkmate," Skye stated, reading his book.
"FUCK!" Kokonoe screamed, "One more try! One more goddamn try, dammit!"
"Uh...Kokonoe? The recap?" Tager sweatdropped as Makoto snored on the couch.
"...God fucking damn it, fine," Kokonoe muttered, "Both Sly, Makoto, and Bentley's teams did their jobs, and were going to make their escape...unfortunately, Makoto, Noel, Tsubaki, and Mai ended up getting lost and ran into Lien-Da and her team, the two groups getting locked in a large room...like a bunch of dumbasses."
"H-Huh? Wha?" Makoto snorted as she woke up.
"And they had to deal with Flying Dog. ...Or rather, they curb stomped it once they got going together," Skye noted.
"That spear was so awesome!" Makoto exclaimed, "Where did Mai even get it?!"
"Makoto, focus."
"Mou...fine," Makoto muttered, "While we were still trapped in that room, Sonic and Roll encountered Shadow/Ben…" her ears drooped a bit at that, "Ben…"
"He'll be back. I'm sure of it," Skye assured, "Sonic and Shadow fought until Eggman on Shadow's radio interrupted them. Shadow left just as Team Sticks the Second…" he snorted back a laugh, "...AKA Sticks, Sam, and Max found the two and they all got to the DeSoto."
"There was 30 seconds left on the bombs, and we were still trapped in that room," Makoto spoke up, "...Until Shadow suddenly crashed in and used that Chaos Control thing to teleport everyone out of there…"
"..."
"If you want to study the Chaos Emeralds, you will have to beat me in Chinese Check…"
"NO!" Tager and Makoto screamed before they tackled the two.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
"Okay!" Makoto grunted as she tightened the ropes on Kokonoe while Tager hung Skye upside down over his mug of hot cocoa, "Wait, what are we talking about this time?"
"...I am unsure," Tager admitted, "...Perhaps we could talk about that one form Ben turned into while he was busy with Ragna."
"What form?" Makoto asked.
"This one," Tager informed as the monitor displayed Firestorm.
"Oh yeah...I forgot he scanned that one," Makoto blinked twice.
"We don't really have much to go on, considering it's from an alternate universe," Tager explained, "But we can confirm that this form is considered a 'Shiny' variant of sorts for the species." the monitor displayed a size chart between Ben, Makoto, Ragna, Firestorm, and Tager, "His form's height is ten feet, ten inches and seems to weigh around 240 pounds. The fire he breathes appears to be hot enough to melt boulders and even solid stone, meaning his flames are, at minimum, 2000 degrees Fahrenheit."
"Woah…" Makoto gawked a bit at that.
"It's also highly suggested...no. Stated that the flame on its tail should never go out, otherwise it would die," Tager added.
"WHAT?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Fortunately, the tail flame seems to be hot enough that not even being dunked into freezing cold water can put it out for a period of time," Tager noted, "We're not sure what the Ultimate version is yet, though. Perhaps when Ben is back…"
"Mmm…" Makoto moaned as she stood in a corner, a depressing aura around her.
"Ah. ...I should not have said his name," Tager noted before removing the gag in Kokonoe's mouth, "Any advice for them?"
"...Stop being such a smart ass…" Kokonoe said to Skye before looking at Makoto, "...And you, just stop acting depressed and admit to him once this shit is done."
Skye chuckled, "Only if you start first." he bit on the rope binding him and tugged, causing it to unravel into threads and he landed on his feet, sending the cup into the air and into his hand before he walked out, "Thanks for the hot cocoa, by the way. Always wanted to try the salted caramel flavor."
"Wait, what?" Kokonoe looked at her cabinet, seeing it void of all packets of hot cocoa, "..."
"You really shouldn't have betted it all on that fifty-seventh match in chess," Tager noted as Makoto ran out, seeing the tick marks appearing all over Kokonoe's head.
"..."
"Uh...Kokonoe?"
"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG! HATE! HATE HAAAAATE!-!-!"
GT: ...Yeesh. That's not gonna end well for Skye.
SZ: No it will not. Anyways, that's another chapter done, so everything is good, right GT? ...Right?
GT: Eeyup.
SZ: Good then. Anyways minna, we'll see you in the next chapter of Omniverse Underground. Till then, I'm Seanzilla115…*changes into some gear* and I got some Monster Hunting to do.
GT: *nods* And I've got a lot of games to play.