Omniverse Underground

by GammaTron

He killed them all...she lost to a maniac...both are poor lost souls. Fortunately, the Continuum Shift seems to think them still useful. Given a second chance in a new world, the two will aid in a rebellion against a tyrannical dictator and return the throne to its rightful heirs.

61. Angel Island

GammaTron: *pokes out of a sea of dust* We get it already, studio. I don't know if you're alive or not, but we get it. We need to work on other stuff than just new things or going back and forth between two stories.

SZ: *coughs from a pile of cobwebs*no kidding...and I literally have a ton of stories needed to get back to as well...especially OS, but this needs more attention since it's been...how long since it's been updated?*looks at calendar*...September 21st 2018….

GT: Wow. That's a long while. Well, may as well get back to work. *pushes a button and the dust gets sucked out, leaving everything perfectly clean*

SZ: Yup..and we got a lot of new material to work with for both sides, especially the Sonic stuff thanks to the IDW comics.

GT: True.

SZ: Speaking of...they've been doing rather well with Sonic ever since Archie comics stopped publishing them...and so far we've got quite a few new characters, some of whom are already fan faves and getting a spin off comic or two...IE Tangle the Lemur and Whisper the Wolf.

GT: That's quite nice. Now then, let's move on, shall we? We do not own Ben 10, BlazBlue, Sonic the Hedgehog, nor any series we use with this story. They are all own by their respective owners.

SZ: Those being Man of Action, Arc System Works, and SEGA respectively for the first three. We do however own any OCs that appear in this. Now...let us begin! GT start us off!

GT: ...Wait, you really want me to blow up the stage?

SZ: No. I mean start it off plain and simple.

GT: ...ohhhh…*looks away from SZ while sweating a little*

SZ: ...*frowns* What did you do?

GT: I took a note out of the Annoying Orange's book and hid a thousand-and-one crates of TNT behind you and lit the fuse already.

SZ: ...know what? I expected that, so I gave them to Monokuma and told him they were salmon cakes.

Monkuma: *pokes head in* Wait wh-?!

*BOOOM!*

GT: *looks at the smoldering crater* ...Yeah...but what about all that? *points up, revealing the ceiling covered in TNT with the fuse almost reaching them*

SZ:...ah bagels.

*KRA-KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM~!-!-!*

---

"...Remind me, why exactly are we going to Angel Island?" Ragna asked.

"Because of Professor Paradox," Ben replied, "When he 'hints' at something, you go there sooner than later."

"...Damn it. That is true," Ragna muttered, leaning back in his seat a bit.

"Shame Makoto and the girls couldn't come with us, but eh. It'll give them time to have reunions with their families and each other," Manic shrugged from the passenger seat.

"We'd stay longer as well, but with your experience with this Paradox guy, Ben, it's better to be safe than sorry," Sonic noted.

"Hai," Roll agreed.

"...This better be worth it then," Ragna sighed.

"Well, it's going to be seven in the morning when we arrive. Better call them now," Sonia noted as she went into the radio room, "Team Underground to Angel Island. Please come in, Angel Island."

=Yo. What's up?= Knuckle's voice answered =Angel Island here=

"Permission to land?" Sonia requested.

=Granted= Knuckles replied =ETA?=

"ETA, Sonic?" Sonia called.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes," Sonia informed.

=Roger. Aquila and Corvus will guide you in= Knuckles informed.

"Roger. Sonia over and..." Sonia nodded, "...Quick question though, has anything...strange been happening at Angel Island recently?"

=...We live on a floating island filled with a diverse variety of biomes all of which is floating because of a giant green emerald on top of a shrine guarded by a literal water god with a ghost of an echidna princess from eons ago, an Echidna from another Zone who's sister works with Eggman, a badger that grew up in the jungle near a prison complex run by a shady organization, a dinosaur that thinks he's a dog, and a large variety of water-based creatures based on animal constellations= Knuckles deadpanned.

"I meant recently," Sonia deadpanned back.

=Oh...nothing aside from Sticks being...crazier than usual...something about a dream of an army of robots and robotic animals or something= Knuckles replied.

"...It's like a saner Uncle Max," Sonia muttered, "Well, we'll talk more when we arrive. When can we expect Corvus and Aquila?"

=ETA? They'll make contact when you're five minutes away= Knuckles replied.

"Understood."

=Over and out= Knuckles informed.

"Okay, we're going to be expecting escort in ten minutes," Sonia informed.

"Gotcha," Manic gave a thumbs up.

"...Hold on. Is no one gonna bring up the fact the badger was dreaming about an army of robots and robotic animals?" Ragna spoke up.

"When it comes to her, I treat her like I do Uncle Max; just go with it," Sonia replied, "Uncle Sam? Don't let anything happen to Uncle Max or one of us."

"...Fair…"

---

"So...you're from another world where there were people there that we know but also don't know, right?" Sticks asked, lying on her back on top of Chomp, as Julie-Su polished the pieces of a disassembled blaster.

"That's correct," Julie-Su nodded, currently cleaning the barrel of the blaster, "There, Sonic's not a prince nor does he have siblings, and Eggman...I can't believe I'm saying this, but the one here is a lot more competent and a bit more human thanks to what happened at the ARK."

"How so?" Sticks asked.

"He considered only Sonic a threat and the other Freedom Fighters-including myself-as weak and nothing more than cannon fodder more or less," Julie-Su explained.

"...wow."

"Yeah…" Julie-Su sighed, "...The Knuckles of my Zone...he was a bit like the one here, and had his own team."

"Those 'Chaotix' guys, right?"

"Exactly. Though, as for Tikal and Chaos…" Julie-Su trailed off before the mentioned two came by, Chaos fleeing from Tikal riding atop the bear Artificial Chaos.

"But, Chaos, please?" Tikal pleaded as the two heard loud splashes of water from the brook nearby, "Oh come now! Why not? It's just a quick trip and Knuckles said he'd give us the Rings needed for the things for Smokey."

"...Yeah...that...that never happened," Julie-Su noted.

"Was there a me there?" Sticks asked.

"Nope," Julie-Su shook her head, "...possibly the closest thing to you, but in a more insane manner was Bean the Dynamite, a member of the Hooligans."

"The who now?"

"Guns for hire more or less. Nack the Weasel-or Fang the Sniper as he wanted to be called-, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear. It's always those three," Julie-Su explained.

"But those are animals. I thought they were guns," Sticks noted.

"No. I mean….nevermind," Julie-Su sighed.

"So...Is there anything else different here to there?" Sticks asked.

"Well…" Julie-Su pondered for a moment, "...There's no Ixis Naugus here….hopefully."

"Ick-us Nauseous?"

"A very bad wizard...and not as in 'horrible with spells' bad," Julie-Su explained, "It was complicated and, hopefully, he is not here." she paused for a moment to lightly rap her knuckles on the tree beside them.

"...What are you doing?" Sticks raised a brow.

"Well, I nearly tempted something. By knocking on wood, it's supposed to help prevent things that were said from happening," Julie-Su noted.

"Does it work?"

"Well, there was this one time that I didn't knock on wood when I said something and that something did happen," Julie-Su recalled.

"Oh…" Sticks blinked...before rapidly knocking on the tree.

"What are you…"

"Knocking wood to make sure my dream doesn't happen."

"...The robot and robotic animal one again?"

"Yep," Sticks replied.

"...How long have you been having that dream again?"

"A few weeks now."

"Ah…" Julie-Su noted before going back to cleaning her blaster's parts for a few moments until looking back at her, "And why did you want to know all that about the other Zone?"

"Eh, was bored," Sticks replied, "Though...now that I think of it, you seemed to cringe whenever Knuckles brings up Sonic being a prince. What? Is he not one where you came from?"

"..."

"...He isn't, is he?"

"Nope," Julie-Su answered, "And before I got taken from my Zone...let's just say something happened to his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Sticks repeated.

"...Mate," Julie-Su corrected.

"Ah. So what happened to Roll of that Zone?" Sticks asked.

"There wasn't a Roll in my Zone."

"Huh?"

"His girlfriend...let's just say she was a princess and…Last I heard, she sacrificed herself to stop Eggman from Roboticized the kingdom...but in exchange, she herself got Roboticized and got modified by Eggman as a killing machine."

"Oh! So I'm guessing she's throwing you for a loop, too?" Sticks asked.

"A bit, yes. Then again, I've known Sally for years and Roll for just several hours at best," Julie-Su noted, 'Then again...given what my sister said...I'm not sure if Sally is the same or not.'

"She seems really nice to me," Sticks noted, "And that little Wisp she's friends with reminds me of this lady that once spent a week in my old jungle."

"Huh?" Julie-Su blinked at that.

"Yeah. She had three Wisps with her, but they couldn't transform," Sticks recalled.

"...What was her name?"

"I don't really remember," Sticks replied, "But if I see her, I can recognize her."

"...Alright. I'll t-" Julie-Su began before tensing, "...heads up."

"Huh?"

"Someone's here...and they're not friendly," Julie-Su frowned, reassembling her blaster as she leaned against a tree.

"Oh, you noticed that, too?" Sticks asked, "Don't worry. From that stick breaking, they just triggered the boulder."

"Boulder?" Julie-Su repeated before a boulder covered in tin foil went by them followed by a scream.

"I mapped the locations of all the traps in my head and then added a lot more to the ones that were lacking a little extra preventions," Sticks explained.

"..."

"...Should we go tell Knuckles?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, I think he's gonna be annoyed since he didn't think of putting tinfoil on some of these things," Sticks noted as Chomp snickered before picking up Julie-Su and ran off to find Knuckles.

"...I feel humiliated somehow," Julie-Su whispered to herself.

---

"Huh...So Aquilla and Corvus were two of those Artificial Chaos things," Ragna noted as a duo of AC resembling an eagle and a raven big as Volkswagen Beetles flew beside the bus.

"Honestly, would you have expected them to be anything else?" Sonic asked.

"...A little," Ragna admitted.

"It seems to have been a good thing we brought them down to Angel Island then," Ben noted, "They seem to really like it."

"I'll say, dude," Manic agreed, "Bet Chaos is enjoying their company."

"Probably. It's probably like they're his family now," Sonic noted, "Oh, hang on. We're approaching the landing zone."

"Sweet. Can't wait to see how the place looks since we were there last," Manic grinned.

"Provided Knuckles hasn't planted any new traps."

"Don't forget that he has Julie-Su, Tikal, Sticks, and Chaos along with all of the Artificial ones helping him out," Sonia reminded as the bus soon landed, shifting into its land mode upon landing.

"True," Sonic shrugged as he hopped out of his seat, "Hey Roll, you ready?"

"Hai," Roll replied, wearing a safari outfit with black stockings, before Yacker poked out wearing a safari hat, "All ready to go."

"...why the safari gear?" Ragna raised a brow.

"Tou-san asked me to wear these when he heard I was coming to a place with a large jungle," Roll explained, "It's interwoven with fibers designed to repel insects."

"Oh…"

"He also told me to watch your step when you walk out of the bus."

"Okay. That's just going too fAAAAAAAAR!" Ragna screamed when he stepped out of the bus...only to end up in a trap hole, "...The hell?!"

"Chaos Theory," Roll explained, "Tou-san lives and breathes it to the point he can accurately predict everything that will happen in the next week at an odds of 95 percent accuracy by utilizing Chaos Theory in mathematics."

"Joy. I'm getting tutored here…" Ragna groaned, "...and what the hell am I laying in down here?!"

"Honey," a voice explained before Knuckles walked up with Tikal, "Hey, guys. Good to see you again."

"Hello again," Tikal greeted.

"Oh hey. Great to see you, now get me out!" Ragna barked, "...What's that stinging sensation?"

"I think those are the fire ants Sticks planted in there."

"Oh I s-WHAT?!" Ragna exclaimed as he jumped out, trying to shake himself off, "Damn it...who uses fire ants for a trap?!"

"Someone who really hates intruders," Knuckles replied.

"Grr…" Ragna growled, taking his jacket off as he shook the ants off, "...great. Now I feel sticky…"

"Oh don't worry. One of the Artificial Chaos can fix that," Tikal informed, "Draco~!"

"Eh? How...oh no. Don't you dare. Don't you even d-" Ragna began before he was blasted by a stream of water, "GAH!"

"Pffft! Ahahahahahaha!" Manic laughed at that.

"Good girl, Draco," Tikal cooed, rubbing the head of a dragon-shaped AC, panting happily at the petting.

"Here you go," Roll offered Ragna a camo-colored bundle, "Tou-san had these made."

"Yeah, yeah…" Ragna grumbled as he got back into the bus as the others got out.

"Oh, those are interesting colors," Tikal noted, seeing the three hedgehogs and Ben all wearing camo-colored clothes.

"Skye had these made for us to wear to the jungle," Sonic explained, "Roll told me about them before we left New Mobotropolis."

"Ahh...interesting," Tikal noted before looking down at her clothes, "..."

"Maybe if there's nothing wrong, we can try on clothes," Sonia suggested.

"Oh, that'd be wonderful!" Tikal beamed.

"Yeah. Real peachy…" Ragna muttered as he walked back, wearing the clothes Roll gave him, "If we're done chatting, can we get back to the task at hand?"

"Huh? Oh, right," Ben noted, "A friend of ours told us there might be something happening here soon. We're just here to ask if everything's fine and check on if you guys are okay."

"Ahh. I see," Tikal noted.

"Well...aside from some strange dreams Sticks has been having about robots, robotic animals and all that, nope. Nothing out of the ordinary so far," Knuckle shrugged.

"...And you're not questioning that why?" Sonia asked.

"It's Sticks. Don't…"

"Actually, Knuckles...hearing that…" Tikal paused, a worried look on her face, "I've...been having almost similar visions…"

"...What?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, sleeping is a luxury since I'm a spirit, but last night when I indulged in it, well…" Tikal explained, "It...was very much like that. Mobians, Robots, Mobians with pieces of robots all coming and the Master Emerald is glowing so bright and...then I woke up."

"...yeah. Because that's not foreshadowing anything," Ragna groaned, "What next, you had a vision about some Phantom Ruby?"

"...what?" Tikal paled greatly at that, "Wh….where...did you hear that?"

"Huh...Serena and Bellicus mentioned that when I went Alien X on Little Planet," Ben recalled, "It's really bad, huh?"

"If Little Planet had been in the Echidna Territory at the time he planned to get the Chaos Emeralds, he would have done all he could to get the Phantom Ruby first," Tikal explained with a cringe.

"He?" a majority of the group repeated.

"Father. I thought that was obvious," Tikal replied.

"Oh…"

"...heh. For a moment you had us worried that someone else tried to get this Phantom Ruby thing," Manic admitted with a sheepish chuckle.

"Hey!-!-!" the group looked to see Chomp running towards them.

"?!"

"Hey, you guys!" Knuckles waved as Chomp skidded to a halt, "Well, you sure took your time."

"Would've been here sooner, but we found out someone turned on one of your traps," Julie-Su answered.

"It wasn't any of us," Ben replied.

"We had a feeling," Sticks stated, "Which means...ahh! Invisible spies!"

"...Riiight…" Knuckles replied before looking at Julie-Su, "Any chance you saw who got caught?"

"Not yet. We were about to go check it out," the female echidna answered.

"Lead on then," Knuckles replied, "Oh, and Ragna don't step there. That's a new…"

*BWOING~!*

"...spring...trap…" Knuckles lamely finished as everyone looked at the camo-colored dot in the sky that was screaming its head off.

"...wow," Manic slowly blinked.

---

"...uuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUCK!" Ragna screamed as he crashed into the ground, leaving a hole in the shape of him, "...Damn it…" he slowly made his way out of the hole and looked around, "...How the hell did I end up in a desert? Goddammit, there's a desert on this island? Why is there a desert on this island?!" he dug around his jacket before pulling out his Binocucom, "Someone, pick up!"

=Moshi-moshi= Roll replied.

"Oi, get Knuckles on the line," Ragna ordered.

=Glad to see you're okay, Ranga-san= Roll deadpanned but did hand it over to Knuckles.

=Huh, this is some new stuff= Knuckles noted.

"Why the hell is there a desert on a floating tropical island?!"

=Oh, that place= Knuckles noted =I've tried to grow some non-desert stuff there, but it wouldn't stick no matter what I tried. Probably the Master Emerald's doing=

"Ugh...I should've figured it involved some mystical shit," Ragna facepalmed, "Okay...where do I go to get out of here?"

=...=

"...I swear to fucking god if you tell me there isn't a way out, I will hurt you."

=No, no, no. It's just, well...I haven't really been there in the last few months= Knuckles noted =So, I may not have a fully accurate memory at the moment is all. Okay, do you see an obelisk?=

"...It better not have a goddamn crystal or something embedded in it at the top," Ragna grumbled as he looked around, "Yeah."

=Okay, since it's still the morning, the sun's in the east so that tells me this; is it leaning to the east?=

"The east? No, it's pointing west," Ragna replied.

=Okay then you're about in the dead center of that part. Just go west for an hour and you'll get to the jungle= Knuckles replied before the image of him showed his dreadlocks moving a lot =Or just stay there and let Sonic and Roll get to you=

"...tch. Fine…" Ragna muttered as he sat down on a nearby rock, "I'll wait on them...like hell I'm gonna get lost in a damn desert."

=Again= Ben spoke up.

"Ben, I swear if you…"

=What? So you and Gwen got lost for a week in the desert after she botched a spell she was practicing, it happens=

"And that was the start of my annoyance at damn brats with magic…" Ragna muttered under his breath as he decided to simply hang up, "Ugh...damn it...what else could go wr…no, wait. I almost walked into that." he paused for a few moments before quickly taking his binocucom out and looked around, "Yeah, I know better than just thinking I got away with it."

---

"We're approaching the island," the pilot informed.

"Good. Activate the cloaking fields," Shockwave ordered.

"Cloaking," the pilot replied, relaying the message to the other ships as he pressed a few buttons before the ships faded from sight.

"Target in sight?"

"Not yet. ETA is in five minutes, Lady Clove," the pilot replied.

"Good," Clove nodded.

"To fully contain the bow and sever its connection, you will need to keep the absorption up for a constant ten minutes," Shockwave explained as he handed her the container/energy drainer, "However, if a crack forms in the casing, you are to immediately throw it off the island to avoid a cataclysmic overload of the device and its resulting explosion."

"Understood," Clove nodded, 'Cassia...just a little longer…'

"Furthermore, you will need to wear this to avoid radiation contamination," Shockwave added as he held up a hazmat suit, "Even if there is a slim chance, it is more logical to cover all the bases before something unexpected occurs."

"...fair enough."

"It will look good on you," Lord Hood snickered, seeing that the suit was rather puffy-looking.

"It's designed to also act as a counter-armor to the guardian's physical abilities," Shockwave explained, "It absorbs kinetic energy and releases it from the exact point of impact. There are also steel anchors in the soles that, when deployed, will let her keep her balance in case of an attempted tackle. The container also utilizes these anchors and has been reinforced to avoid cracking if they attempt to aim at it on the small chance that the natives manage to reach you."

=Excuse me…=

"Silas, report," Lien-Da ordered.

=Ugh...It seems they included more traps. Triggered one that wasn't on the info…=

"...So there's new traps then..." Lien-Da frowned.

=Lady Conquering Storm=

"Report, Akane."

=The Royal Triplets, the last female Sakurai, Ragna the Bloodedge, and Ben Tennyson are on the island= Akane informed before multiple groans and exclamations of annoyance, frustration, and whimpering went off on communications upon hearing that.

"Well, this just makes things more annoying," Lien-Da growled before whistling sharply over the communication lines, "Alright! Let the intel keep coming before we break down and cry like little babies."

=...=

"...Akane, resume. Locations?"

"Silas, get the new traps sent to Shockwave."

=Yes, Lady Lien-Da=

=Hai, Lady Conquering Storm. Ragna the Bloodedge is currently in the desert with Prince Sonic and the Sakurai approaching him through the jungle. The others are with the guardian and his companions on route to their home here=

"Soka…" Conquering Storm noted, "Stay on the Sakurai. If she pulls anything and spots you...let me know."

=Understood, Lady Conquering Storm=

"...Why would they put so much tinfoil on these traps?" Shockwave pondered as he was analysing the new traps sent to him, "Such illogical methods…"

"...I...I shouldn't be surprised at this point, and yet...I am," Lien-Da sighed with a facepalm.

"It appears we'll need to revise plans to include these new interlopers," Hood noted with a scowl.

"Damn it…" Lien-Da muttered, "Ugh...Okay. Replanning time!"

---

"The source of the scream should be around here somewhere," Sticks stated as the group looked around a bit, "...or it could be a rare screaming caterpillar finding a new place to live."

"Rare screaming caterpillar?" Ben repeated, "Sounds like something from a show that's been on for several decades."

"Meh. I'll be the judge if that's accurate or not," Sticks shrugged.

"Oh, be careful there, Manic," Knuckles warne, stopping Manic from stepping on a vine, "That's tied to logs Sticks set up."

"Hey, where'd the hat I put here go?" Sticks asked, looking at the vine.

"...Why would you put a hat there?" Julie-Su asked with a raised brow.

"Who can refuse a free hat?" Sticks retorted.

"Any other traps we should know that were recently added?" Sonia asked.

"...Well...I may have helped with one just ahead," Julie-Su admitted, "Honestly, why no one thought to make these kinds of traps in my old Zone to help protect the Master Emerald, I have no clue."

"Maybe you didn't have time to think about it," Manic offered.

"W...no no. You're right…" Julie-Su sighed, "With all the times Eggman attacked, the Dark Egg Legion…"

"Snrk…"

"Naugus having taken over the Kingdom after the Iron Dominion's attack on the city…"

"The Iron who now?" Knuckles blinked.

"A group of technopaths and ninja who took over Eggman's HQ after my Sonic mentally broke him, and attempted to take over the Kingdom of New Mobotropolis…" Julie-Se explained before frowning a bit, "Using my Zone's Nicole and her nanites, leading to a string of events that led Naugus to be King."

"Wait, wait, wait. Your Nicole studies nanites, too?" Sonia asked.

"More that she's an AI that uses nanites to make herself a physical body," Julie-Su explained.

"Oh, so not an organic lynx from Ryugu that was abducted by aliens and is a Magister for our galaxy now," Manic compared.

"...Gotta take notes of differences between here and my original Zone.." Julie-su whispered to herself, "But yeah...my Zone's Nicole was an AI that used nanites to make herself a body, even using said nanites to help create New Mobotropolis after Eggman destroyed Knothole-my Zone's Freedom Fighters' home and HQ."

"Wow. Sounds pretty tight," Manic noted, "Oh wait, you said this Iron Dominion group could control tech, so your Nicole…"

"Yes. She was controlled as well. The fallout after they were defeated...it wasn't pretty," Julie-Su admitted, "A majority of the kingdom feared Nicole...and things got worse from there."

"...How worse?"

"From what I was told...after Naugus regained control...Eggman attacked, attempted to destroy the kingdom, but Sally sacrificed herself and ended up getting Roboticized, Bunnie was unable to help because Naugus 'cured' her of her cybernetics-of which form what I can tell, he crystalized her while she was fighting a giant robot of Eggman's-, Antoine was put into a coma when Sally and Metal Sonic attacked Elias-Sally's brother- and his family while they were escaping through a hidden path only the Acorn Family knows about a-"

"Wait wait wait," Manic spoke up, "How did Eggman know about that?"

"Huh?"

"If that hidden path was only known by that royal family...then how did Eggman know about it?"

"...What are you getting at, Manic?" Sonia asked with a raised brow.

"Sounds like they had a spy in the place," Manic noted, "A double-crosser."

"How? Only people who'd know about it are the Acorns a-" Julie-su began before her eyes widened in realization, "...That son of a bitch…"

"Hey, hey, hey! One of my teachers was a dog thank you very much," Manic frowned before tapping his chin in thought, "She made pretty darn good brownies, too…"

"Sorry...just...I think I have a good idea who might've spilled the beans more or less...Geoffrey St. John...a former Freedom Fighter."

"...And you say this wh-"

"He's the one that helped make Naugus king by backstabbing my Zone's Sonic, gave him a Chaos Emerald to help give him power, and used the people's fear of Nicole to give him the throne," Julie-su explained before frowning, "And with what I just realized...most likely told Naugus about the hidden path."

"...and how does Eggman fit into this?" Sonia asked.

"They've always had a really, and I mean REALLY, rocky relationship...so I'm guessing Naugus told Eggman about it in an attempt to get rid of Elias and his family, and if I guess in return...Eggman wanted amnesty for his past crimes against Mobius."

"...Yeah, if there is a Naugus here and he's a bad guy like yours? No chances for him," Manic stated, "In fact, I'll use my teach's teachings on him."

"The one you found offense with Julie-Su's curse?" Sticks asked.

"Yep."

"What'd she teach you?" Knuckles asked.

"Torture and interrogation and how to dispose of a body without any trace coming back to you," Manic casually replied...before snickering at their faces, "Nah, I kid. She taught me how to fight with a knife and basic hunting skills."

"...Manic, you scare me at times," Sonia sighed.

"Heh heh. I try," Manic joked a bit, "Ahem...back on track. Sticks, we near where you gals heard that scream?"

"Yep!" Sticks beamed before pointing, "And there's the sprung trap!"

"...A catapult covered in tinfoil," Manic deadpanned.

"I sent a letter by pidgeon to Sam and Max for ideas," Sticks explained, "While I kept the catapult, I didn't include the machine guns, rubber chicken on a string in a cannon, or the mustard jar." a pause followed, "Well, I tried to include the mustard jar, but Canis Major likes mustard and ate it."

"..."

"What? You asked."

"Well, it was sprung," Knuckles noted as he looked it over, "Ah, left an indent in the tinfoil. Looks like a feline-based Mobian, roughly five-foot-six."

"Any ideas where they might've been flung at?"

"Sticks, how tight was the catapult pulled?" Knuckles asked.

"I did it fifteen times on my own then I asked Smoky to help with the other fifty five times," Sticks replied.

"Okay," Knuckles replied before holding his hand up, "Wind's about...ah, got it." Knuckles pointed at the mountain, "About ten kilometers from the top of the mountain."

"...We're gonna have to climb that, aren't we?"

"Nope. Ursa Minor stays up there. More than likely, she's already found the Mobians and is giving them something to keep them warm while getting them down from there," Knuckles replied.

---

"Silas, update?" Lien-Da asked.

=OH GOD! ICE BEARS ARE REAL!=

"...Hood, your stealth expert sucks," Lien-Da stated, ignoring the staticy bear roar on the lines barely heard over Silas' screams.

"Silence! Silas just...didn't expect it is all," Hood argued.

"...Akane, report," Conquering Storm spoke.

=Ayame has informed me they've found what Silas triggered; it's apparently a catapult...covered in tinfoil=

"...Very illogical," Shockwave muttered.

=The Sakurai and her bonded are entering a desert area. It appears Ragna the Bloodedge has landed there=

"Good. Keep on their trails," Conquering Storm ordered, "And tell Ayame to stay close to the Guardian and his group."

=Hai=

"We have priorities. The primary being distracting them," Lien-Da noted, "Secondary is getting to the Master Emerald."

"Do we have any other agents on the island?" Shockwave asked.

"Agent McGruff is near one of the lakes on the island," Hood noted.

"We could start with setting a forest fire," Shockwave noted, "Ben Tennyson has shown several times that he is a first responder to situations such as that. It would keep him busy and the others distracted with assisting in putting it out."

"What about the Water God?" Clove asked.

"We could get a sponge."

"A sponge?"

"A really big sponge."

"...Any other ideas?" Lien-Da deadpanned.

"...Swindle," Onslaught ordered.

"From some new contacts from some nice Hydroxians from Aquraius 88, I present…" Swindle informed as he opened his chest and pulled out...a sponge.

"...A sponge?" Lien-Da deadpanned.

"Not just any sponge. This is a Hydro-Absorb Instantaneous Liquid Containment Ultimax," Swindle explained, "Designed to contain even the most horrendous of criminals composed of any liquid."

"Again...it's a sponge," Lien-Da groaned.

Swindle chuckled before placing it on Hood's head. The 'sponge' glowed before Hood yelped as he was sucked into it instantly. Swindle then shook it and Hood popped out of it, groaning and twitching on the floor.

"...and you're sure this will work on Chaos, right?" Lien-Da cautiously asked.

"Milady, have I ever been wrong before?"

"...You're scrap if this doesn't work," Lien-Da warned with a frown.

"How did you even…?" Clove began to ask.

"Oh, when we had run of the ARK, I found this lovely little communications room and picked up a few new interstellar connections," Swindle chuckled.

"...You've been off planet, haven't you?"

"Oh several times. All on my vacation days, mind you," Swindle replied before giving Lien-Da a holographic screen, "I've also given Lord Eggman a galactic bank account with twenty percent of my profits. Tayden is quite the interesting currency."

"...How many Rings are a Tayden?"

"Current rates are one hundred Rings per Tayden."

"...And who does his accounting for this?"

"Dave," Swindle replied, "Promoted after surviving that horrific encounter with the Sandblasters."

"Oh him," Lien-Da noted, 'Well, that explains why we haven't gone bankrupt and where we've been getting continued funds.' "...Well, keep up the good work then..." she leaned in and whispered, "And make sure to find me a nice vacation spot for when I'm finally free."

"Can do."

---

=Agent McGruff, begin distraction=

"You got it!" a bloodhound Mobian saluted before dropping his emptied oil can and pulled out a match, "Lights on!" he struck the match and dropped it into the oil, "And I'm outta here!" he began to run off before he collided with something big, "Guh! Dang blasted tr…" he looked up and his ears drooped, "Ooh…"

The Ursa Major-based Artificial Chaos looked at the fire that was quickly spreading and then down at McGruff. The bear growled and swept his arm out to the fires.

=Agent McGruff, why are you still near the fire? It is illogical unless you are dealing with a branch having fallen on you, a tree collapsing on you, you tripping into a trap or…=

"Uh, I'll have to call you back," McGruff replied, hanging up and entering a fighting stance, "Come on!"

Smoky roared as he assumed a fighting stance as well. The two attacked the moment a burning tree branch fell nearby.

---

"Is that smoke?" Ragna pondered before screaming as a wave of sand engulfed him.

"...Huh...Could've sworn I just heard him," Sonic noted, looking around.

"...Yacker-chan," Roll sighed, seeing Ragna's foot sticking out of the large mound of sand.

"HOVER!"

"...oops," Sonic chuckled sheepishly as Roll spun around on her Hover-Board above the sand, whipping it up into a small sand tornado that moved away from them, revealing Ragna, coughing up clumps of sand into a small sandcastle complete with seashells and tiny flags.

"...I don't even want to know how I got the flags," Ragna muttered, blinking twice at it before glowering at the two.

"...eh heh heh...sorry man," Sonic apologized.

"...Tch. Whatever," Ragna scoffed as he got up, "By the way, there's smoke coming up from somewhere."

"Huh?" Sonic looked around before Ragna turned him to where he saw smoke in the distance, "Wow. ...Did Noel get here?"

"It's not purple and turning into a skull in the air that says 'doom' ominously, so no," Ragna joked.

"...Nice," Sonic chuckled, trading high fives with the man, "Still, best to check it out."

"Good. W-" Ragna began before tensing up.

"...something up?"

"...We're being followed," Ragna frowned, looking around for something before eying Sonic.

"...Dude, don't even th-" Sonic began before Ragna grabbed him and tossed him at a sand dune, "Ahh!"

Sonic collided with the sand dude, sending sand into the air. Roll tensed as Akane landed on her feet, frowning. Akane turned and narrowed her eyes at Roll.

"..."

"..."

"...Ah sh-" Ragna began.

"RAIJU/SAKURAI-SCUM!" Akane and Roll snapped as they charged at one another.

"Seriously, d-do either of them have mongoose or snake in their family lines?" Ragna asked as Sonic stumbled over, covered in sand.

"You...y-" Sonic began, glaring at Ragna a bit before yelping as he and Ragna ducked under some stray electrified kunai and shuriken, "WOAH!"

"You...you are Conquering Storm-sama's most hated enemy amongst the Sakurai!" Akane snapped as the two clashed blades, "She will appreciate me returning the Raiju's sacred blade to our home land!"

"And you are an insult to all shinobi and kunoichi! Who throws kunai and shuriken?! They're digging tools and melee weapons!" Roll snapped before Akane jumped back as her top was sliced partway through by the shuriken in Roll's free hand, "Like so!"

"Ahh! Kono!" Akane snapped, pulling out another pair of kunai in a reverse manner as she charged back at Roll.

"...If a Raiju is here…" Sonic began in realization.

"...Then all the others are..." Ragna finished, "Eggman's army is here."

"...I hate that Paradox guy," both groaned.

---

"We've got the unique energy signature of Ben Tennyson's device on radar," one of the organic troops informed.

"He is heading towards the fire as predicted," one of the robot troops added, "ETA one minute fifteen seconds."

"Brace yourselves then," Lien-Da ordered, "Be ready for whatever form he's in. Shockwave, is it ready?"

"It is," Shockwave replied.

"Good. The moment he's in range..use it," Lien-Da stated, pulling her whip out as she braced herself.

For a few moments, silence befell the area, the sounds of the fire crackling within the distance before that silence was broken as Jetray burst in, taking notice of the two Grandmasters and their troops.

"You!"

"Well...I was surprised you answered so quickly, Tennyson," Lien-Da smirked.

"Why couldn't it have been a normal forest fire…?" Jetray groaned.

"How else are we gonna grab your attention?" Lien-Da countered.

"...?! A setup," Jetray realized, "I…!"

"Shockwave now!"

Shockwave threw out a cube. The cube glowed before releasing a small pulse of red energy. Jetray grunted as the energy washed over him before he reverted back to Ben.

"?! ...What di-"

"We've recorded and took data on all your known forms' data and created a means to cancel out your transformations for a good while," Lien-Da explained, "Go ahead. Try and change into something."

"..." Ben grit his teeth, "...what are you after?"

"Hmm?"

"What is Eggman after?"

"Oh that...oh nothing much. He just needs to 'borrow a cup of sugar'," Lien-Da joked lightly.

"And by sugar, she means the Master Emerald!" a soldier shouted.

"...Larry."

"Yes, ma-" the soldier began before yelping when he got whipped.

"...Shockwave…"

"He is a transfer from Thunderbolt's troops."

"...Of course he is…." Lien-Da muttered in annoyance, "...Nevermind. Men, keep Tennyson busy."

"Yes ma'am!" they saluted as they aimed at Ben.

"..."

"...Hey! Why isn't he scared?" Larry asked before tensing, "...That crazy strong squirrel chick is here too, isn't she?!"

"Unknown," the robot trooper from before replied.

"Oh, don't mind me. Just waiting for what usually happens is all," Ben assured.

"...what usually happens?"

"Larry, I swear if you jinxed this, I…" Lien-Da began.

"Oh someone shoots when they're not supposed to and something happens that lets me get out of this," Ben replied.

"...A stalemate...I'm not falling for that, Tennyson," Lien-Da smirked as she crossed her arms, "Trust me...I've dealt with your type before…"

"Even if one of your troops accidentally fires?"

"If they do…" Lien-Da paused as her whip became electrified, making them all tense up, "Got it?"

"...ah….ah….ah…"

"LARRY NO!" the soldiers freaked.

"AHCHOO!" Larry sneezed, misfiring his gun at Ben...before it bounced off a barrier and hit Shockwave's cube and blew it up.

"Gotta thank Mr. Sakurai and his new tech," Ben chuckled, opening his jacket to reveal a badge resembling a globe with a lightning bolt over it, "Anyone wearing this doesn't have to worry about laser artillery since it makes an instant barrier."

"...Men...Shockwave…" Lien-Da began, her eye twitching violently as she glared at Larry, "Deal with Tennyson...I need to punish a certain idiot…"

"...AHH!" Larry freaked as he ran, Lien-Da chasing after him, "No wait, dude, I'm sorry!"

"...I should have had the Combaticons stay with us instead of assisting in drawing any interference away from the Master Emerald," Shockwave noted as a flash of green light went off as a large shadow came over them.

"Yeah...You should've," Grimlock growled, cracking his knuckles, "Also, thanks for spilling your plan further. Me, Grimlock, getting madder now." he deployed his sword, "You, Shockwave, bad."

"...scrap."

---

"Sticks, did you set off another fire?" Knuckles groaned.

"That was only the seventh time and you know it!" Sticks argued, "And this wasn't me! It didn't make a mushroom-shaped cloud like last time."

"Then if it wasn't you, then who?" Sonia asked before Manic's Binocucom went off, "..."

"...ugh…" Manic sighed as he pulled it out, "It's Eggman's forces, isn't it?"

=What was your first clue?= Sonic deadpanned.

"Just a guess," Manic replied before hearing fighting on the line, "Bro, what's going on?"

=...= Sonic turned his Binocucom to show Roll and Akane fighting still, Roll using Burst BusterSword to fire exploding fireballs at Akane, only for the Raiju to dodge them all.

"...Raiju?"

=Raiju=

"Yeesh...It's like they're programmed to hate each other on a genetic level," Manic cringed.

=My money's they got snake and mongoose somewhere in their blood= Ragna muttered, poking his head into view.

"...and the fire?"

=We're not sure=

"Well, if those guys did start one, they'd best pray Smoky's not there," Sticks noted.

=Smoky?=

"We used to call him Ursa Major, but then Tikal watched this transmission we got that was most likely from Earth several decades back and she renamed him Smoky," Knuckles explained.

=Oh….is Ben with you?=

"He went to go check it out," Manic replied, "...In fact...yo Ben. You there?"

=Me, Grimlock, busy right now! You, Manic, call bad time!= Manic nearly dropped his Binocucom from the loud shout that came from it.

"...yeah. Eggman's forces are here…" Manic sighed, "Most likely? They want the Master Emerald or something."

"Ha! Jokes on them! I practically surrounded the shrine in traps!" Sticks laughed triumphantly, "If you have ill-intent for the big shiny, then no way will you be able to go near it!"

"How would you be able to test it out?" Sonia asked.

"...Huh...good point," Sticks admitted, "...we better go check it just in case."

"Knuckles left with Tikal and Julie-Su the moment I brought up the Master Emerald," Manic pointed out.

"Hey, wait up! Let's go, Team Sticks!" Sticks shouted as she grabbed Manic and Sonia and ran off, dragging them after her.

"Whoa!" the two yelped.

---

"No matter how many times I witness it, Grimlock is still a marvelous creature," Shockwave noted as he and Lien-Da ducked under the shredded remains of a thrown robot.

"To you maybe…" Lien-Da whispered with wide eyes, '...If Finitivus was here...he'd have a field day with Tennyson's watch.'

"And he's nearly reached the point he transforms," Shockwave noted.

"Wait, what?" Lien-Da asked before Grimlock roared as his burning aura engulfed him fully and he transformed, "...A giant robotic T-Rex…" Shockwave tackled her to the side, barely avoiding the stream of concentrated plasma breath that left a trail of destruction where they had been, "...That breathes fire." 'Yep. Big field day for the guy.'

"Technically, it is highly concentrated plasma reaching temperatures of 179,999,540 degrees Fahrenheit," Shockwave noted, "It a-"

"Okay I get it! It's dangerous!" Lien-Da hissed, "If you have a strategy for this form, now would be a good time to use it!"

"Of course," Shockwave replied before tapping a side of his head, "Lord Eggman, we require assistance."

=...Freedom Fighters?=

"Specifically the Underground Freedom Fighters. Requesting Groundbridges for Project Omega and Project Abominus," Shockwave confirmed.

=Omega? Are you sure?= Eggman asked.

"Affirmative. Based on approximations, coordinates for his location to be sent to have been sent while I need Project Abominus at my side," Shockwave informed before Grimlock let out another roar and they barely avoided the robotic alien dinosaur's tail slamming where they had been, shattering the ground on impact, "Immediately."

=Very well= Eggman replied =ETA one minute=

"Understood."

"...Project Omega?" Lien-Da whispered to herself, '...oh don't tell me….'

---

The doors before Eggman slid apart and the leader of a nation entered into the lab behind it. Inside, several Mobians, Overlanders, Robots, and Beastkin were quick to stand at attention.

=Lord Eggman, sir= one of the robots greeted with a saluted.

"At ease. The Underground Freedom Fighters have appeared on Angel Island. Shockwave has been authorized for Projects Omega and Abominus," Eggman stated, "Get them activated at once for Groundbridge transport."

"Groundbridge? But, sire, the only ones that could handle the calculations are Sir Shockwave and…" a hawk Beastkin with a metal eye began before Eggman held up a cassette player and casually tossed it before him.

Before their eyes, the player grew to the size of an Overlander and opened up in an array of shifting parts. Landing before the Beastkin was a tall, well built robot sporting the cassette storage on its torso. It had a pair of battery-shaped blasters on its back while its head sported a bulky helmet with a red visor and a silver faceguard.

"Meet Soundwave MKII. He's already programmed to operate the Groundbridge," Eggman informed, "Now get them activated and prepped for immediate transport."

"Sir!= they replied, the hawk Beastkin gulping a bit, before they went to several stations and went to work.

"Soundwave, prep the Groundbridge."

=Soundwave Acknowledged=

---

"We're approaching target," Clove noted, seeing the bridge to the shrine in the distance, "Any movement?"

"...It's quiet...too quiet…" Conquering Storm replied with a frown, "...the Guardian or one of his subordinates must have traps set up."

"Oh please, as if they…" Hood began before CS tossed a rock the size of her head out ahead of them and let it land...before being smashed by a mallet the size of a bus that came out of nowhere, "..."

"Never underestimate your opponent…"

"Can you lead us through?" Clove asked.

"Yes," Conquering Storm replied as her eyes began to glow.

"Lead the way then."

"...You women do that. I…" Hood began as he turned...only to be dragged by his tail, "...grr…"

"Silence," Conquering Storm ordered, holding Hood's tail as she carefully led Clove through the traps, "Remember that we must work together on this. Otherwise that happens."

"You…" Hood began before an energy scythe was held up to him face, "?!"

"I am THIS close to saving my sister from an unknown and fatal disease, and I am not losing this opportunity," Clove frowned dangerously, "We are not in 'your' kingdom of Mercia, so I would suggest you hold back the sexist attitude and cooperate with us for the mission, 'Lord' Mordred Hood."

"...Yes, madam…"

"Good…" Clove whispered as she dismissed her weapon, "Now, Lady Conquering Storm, if you may lead us through these traps?"

"Of course...we are nearing closer to the shrine," the lynx nodded as she continued to navigate the two through the traps, "...I must ask you of something."

"Hmm?"

"You have the potential of being a great warrior, and yet you chose to go down the road of the pacifist for the sake of your younger sibling," Conquering Storm stated, not once turning to face her, "Even against an enemy, you hold back… What is keeping you from using your full potential?"

"...Why are you asking me this? I thought the Raiju care only about themselves," Clove noted.

"It is as you said; if your refusal to release your limits causes the mission to fail, it will endanger myself and my kin on the island further. When and if the time comes for battle..." Conquering Storm paused as she stopped, shooting a light glare at Clove, "I hope you will not hesitate in killing your opponent."

Clove tensed at the glare for a moment before the three resumed their careful navigation through the traps, '...I hope it doesn't come to that…'

---

"Almost there," Knuckles informed as he lead 'Team Sticks' through the jungle and entering a clearing, "Just past here and we'll be at the M…" he skidded to a halt when a swirl green and white vortex appeared on the other side, "What the heck?!"

"Knuckles, isn't that what we used to get to the ARK?" Sonia recalled.

"We're going to have to relocate again," Julie-Su groaned before a heavy footstep went off on the other side of the vortex.

Another footstep went off. Slowly, a figure was made out in the vortex. Upon emerging, the figure was revealed to be a large robot around the size of Rath. Its body was muscular in design and was primarily black in coloration. Red decorated its torso and lower arms. Gold detailing decorated several places, primarily on the wrists, shoulders, parts of the torso, the back of its lower legs, and the head which sported a red crown-like adornment. On his back was a large broadsword sheathed in black metal, the handle a deep red with a gold end. The left shoulder sported a red 'E-123' while the right had a red Omega symbol.

"...Oh crap," Julie-Su paled, nearly dropping her gun.

"Did they send a robot based off a knight?" Manic pondered.

"That….that's no ordinary Robot…." Julie-Su spoke, earning the group's attention, "That symbol on it can only mean one thing...This is Omega, the Ultimate in Eggman's E-Series."

"E-Series?" Sonia repeated.

"News to us, dude-and that's because they were from your Zone," Manic realized.

"...I'll just say this...the only one who beat and tamed this thing-because the one in my Zone had a hatred for Eggman-..." Julie-Su paused as Omega glared at the group, "...was Shadow."

"...Oh fuck," Manic cursed.

"Targets confirmed," Omega spoke, his voice deep and rumbling with a small mechanical reverb, as he reached behind his back and grasped the hilt, causing the metal to expand and reveal a glowing red energy beneath that revealed the 'scabbard' was also the blade, "Targets Sonia Hedgehog, Manic Hedgehog, Knuckles Echidna, and Julie-Su." Omega swung his blade out, causing the ground around him to break apart as a strong wind briefly blew around him in a swirl from the swing of his blade, "Mission: Defeat and/or Subdue. Mission Commence."

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?!" Sticks ranted.

"Scanning. Scans indicate you are a Badger Mobian," Omega stated, "File added. Chopped Liver the Badger."

"...I am Sticks!" Sticks roared as she threw her boomerang only for Omega to catch it and crush it with ease, "...You owe me a new boomerang!"

"Sticks, don't make him madder!" Julie-Su hissed before yelping as she barely avoided Omega's blade, 'Also this Zone's Eggman...made the Omega here WAY more dangerous! ….Just hope we can subdue him...and someone just as strong as Shadow will arrive to help.'

---

Grimlock panted as he changed back into his humanoid robot form as the area around him was wrecked to the point no one would ever be able to tell what had once been there, "Everything hurting more...Me, Grimlock, need to change to him, Swampfire, soon…" a noise made him turn around to see a Groundbridge open, "Reinforcements?"

Loud roars echoed from the portal before several sets of glowing red eyes shined inside of it. Moments later, five figures emerged and gave out roars while it closed. The largest of the five was a red and black twin-headed bipedal mechanical dragon with gold detailing. At its immediate left was a black and red wyvern with gold detailing while its immediate right was occupied by a black and gold quadrupedal mechanical twin-headed dragon with red detailing. On the ends were gold and red shark-like mechanical beasts that were either shaped like a T-Rex or a gorilla, both sporting black detailing.

"What...are those?" Lien-Da asked.

"Created through the results of combining Mobian and Beastkin DNA with robotics," Shockwave explained, "Primarily, the more predatorial ones such as sharks, gorillas, vultures, and dragons. Furthermore..."

The biggest of the five let out a roar with both its head. The gorilla-shark bellowed along with the shark-T-Rex before they both charged ahead and did a flip before becoming a pair of feet and lower legs. The twin-headed bipedal dragon jumped up and its body shifted, quickly attaching to the two to become a muscular torso, shoulders, and lower legs. The wyvern screeched alongside its four-legged dragon brethren before they jumped up and transformed into a pair of arms. The torso's head area glowed before a menacing dragonic knight-like head emerged, its mouth exposed to reveal sharp fangs.

"Abominus...SMASH!" the behemoth roared, banging his torso.

"Aw slag," Grimlock grumbled as he deployed his shield and sword to barely block the bum-rush tackle.

"They...they can combine?!"

"Correct. My latest project….Project Abominus," Shockwave replied as the two giants grappled, "Just like the Combaticons, these five are capable of combining into one form. However, they only have a full intelligence combined. Separated, Hun-Gurr, Twinstrike, Windrazor, Rippersnapper, and Blight are all more akin to animals and required several lessons to not attack personnel or anyone affiliated with the Eggman Empire."

"...In other words…they're more like predators."

"Correct. Combined they are Abominus, but separated…" Shockwave paused as Abominus gave an earth shattering roar while kicking away Grimlock, sending him crashing through a few trees, "They are the Terrorcons."

---

"Woah!" Sonic yelped as he ducked under a thrown kunai, he and Ragna staying far away from the fight going on between Roll and Akane, "...Okay, whoever came up with the phrase 'Like Snakes and Mongooses' clearly hasn't seen what a Sakurai and Raiju are capable of."

"Agreed," Ragna nodded.

"Sakurai Scum!" Akane snapped as she shot past Roll with an electrified kunai, the slash tearing the hedgefox's shirt a bit.

"Raiju Reject!" Roll responded, slashing with her Burst Bustersword and managing to ignite Akane's shirt.

"Grr!" Akane snarled as she stepped back, tossing her shirt away to reveal the mesh undershirt underneath, binding around her chest, "You are traitors to all kunoichi kind!"

"Oh WE'RE Traitors?!" Roll argued, "At least we didn't sell our clan out to a fat bastard who took over nearly the entire world!"

"What Conquering Storm-sama does is best for the clan!" Akane snapped as she threw electrified shuriken at Roll, some shooting past her as they tore her shirt up a bit more.

"Yes, to its demise!" Roll replied, "And who throws a shuriken in that manner?! Kami above, no wonder you Raiju are terrible shinobi!"

"Nani?! Oh, you little bitch!"

"Leave my great-great-great-great grandma out of this!"

"Huh?" Ragna pondered, looking at Sonic.

"Roll showed me a family tree and it looked more like a kudzu in terms of all the species in her family," Sonic noted with a sweatdrop.

"...So she has a dog in her family tree?"

"More or less yeah…"

"I've had enough of this!" Akane snarled as she began to make handsigns, a dark-purple aura surrounding her, "Ikken wo motte magyou wo mekkyaku sen, Battou (By means of one sword, draw out myriads of blades and destroy)!"

"?!" Roll tensed in surprise, a dark-purple seal appearing underneath her that spread to halfway between her and Akane, electricity crackling off it, "Masaka...one of the…"

"Taste the wrath of the Great Spirit Volt…" Akane whispered as her eyes flashed, "Thunder Blade!"

Sonic tensed up before quickly rushing out there in a blur, grabbing Roll just in time as a dark-electric purple energy blade crashed into the center of the seal, a dome of lightning and thunder surrounding it for a moment before it exploded in a surge of electricity.

"...damn. Talk about electrifying," Sonic joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit...but got silence in return, "...yeesh. No cricket or anythi-"

"You…" Roll frowned as she hopped out of Sonic's arms, glaring at Akane, "Where did you learn that?!"

"...hmph. My master, of course," Akane grinned, "Only those trusted by the leader can learn one of the arts hidden within the scrolls left by the Six Great Spirits."

"The who?" Sonic asked.

"...Really?" Akane frowned, "You don't know? ...Ugh. Have the other clans truly forgotten about them?"

Roll facepalmed, "Not from Neighpon or descended from one, Raiju-baka."

"...Soka," Akane noted, "Then the info would be wasted on them…"

"Long story short; certain Clans follow six spirits akin to kami based upon six elements that vary depending on the clan," Roll explained, "None of those from Hyorinmaru follow them but several kami from multiple cultures since each culture had a deity that aided in the formation of our home."

"And the Raiju are among the six clans chosen by the Great Spirits," Akane added before frowning, "Though...we are displeased your clan leader, the eldest of the Prower Siblings, had obtained Celsius' blessings."

"Celsius?" Sonic repeated.

"Great Spirit of Ice," Roll answered, "It is said that Celsius-sama is the one who taught the Hyorinmaru to control ice."

"Ahh."

"Enough distractions...shinei, Sakurai scum!" Akane snapped, making hand signs once more as she began the incantation again, "Ikken wo motte…"

"Drill," Roll whispered.

"DRILL!"

"Mekkyaku se-" before Akane could finish her incantation, Roll slammed her sword into the sandy ground while grabbing Sonic and Ragna, creating a small explosion of sand that forced Akane to shield her eyes, "Gh!?" she lowered her guard and her eyes widened to see the hole where the three had been, "Ah shit..." she took her communicator out, "Conquering Storm-sama...they escaped."

=...kuso...regardless, you did well to keep them at bay Akane. We are nearing the objective=

"Shall I pursue them?" Akane asked.

=Is it possible to track them?=

"...Iie," Akane whispered looking down the hole, "My Artes won't work underground...only someone from the clan under Gnomu's protection could sense them."

=Then return for now, Akane= Conquering Storm ordered.

"Hai, Conquering Storm-sama," Akane replied.

---

Manic, donned in his armor, stabbed his knife into the ground, creating a massive wolf head of earth that 'ate' Omega...only to be shattered by a swing of Omega's blade moments later, "Tch. What the hell is this guy made of?"

"Annihilate…" Omega said, aiming one of his claws at Manic before firing an energy claw in the same shape of it at Manic.

"Whoa!" Manic yelped before tapping a foot and making the ground swallow him up, barely avoiding the claw, before popping out behind Omega with a large fist made of the ground, "HAH!" he slammed it into Omega, who barely moved from the impact, "Aw come on…"

Omega's upper body spun around to face Manic. His free clawed hand twitched before it transformed into the barrel of a machine gun. Manic yelped as he began to barely dodge the multiple shots fired by the limb, shredding through the foliage behind the hedgehog like a thousand-degree knife through warmed butter, "I can use some help here!"

Sticks hollered as she jumped on Omega's head and began to bash at it with a rock she had grabbed. Omega's back opened a panel and a mechanical hand on a metal tentacle came out and grabbed Sticks by her tail and threw her away.

"Ow!" Sticks cried as she crashed into a tree, "Hey! No manhandling the badger! And that better have been washed!"

Omega prepared to fire at Sticks only for laser shots to bounce off his armor. Omega's optics turned to see Julie-Su firing at him repeatedly with her blaster. Omega prepared to attack when he senses a shift in his body. Knuckles grunted before, with a roar, threw Omega through a tree, splintering it in half upon impact.

"Raaaa!" Knuckles roared as he pounced Omega, about to punch him before he was grabbed by the face and was tossed right into Julie-Su, the female Echidna yelping in surprise as the two tumbled around a bit, "..."

"..."

"...uh…." Knuckles nervously whispered, noticing the position the two were in.

"Knuckles...you better move or else I'll show you something a friend of mine taught me...and trust me...You won't like it," Julie-Su frowned in annoyance.

"Gh?!" Knuckles tensed as he shot up, holding his hands up in defense as Julie-Su stood up.

"Heh. Wh-" Manic began before quickly jumping back from a slash from Omega, "...Uh sis?! A little help here?!"

A burst of flames above Omega went off and Sonia stabbed down on his head with Rhongo. Omega's head sparked as the spear pierced his head. The hand tried to grab Sonia only for her to teleport with a burst of flames that melted the hand. She appeared beside Manic as the five regrouped. Omega's head glowed along with the end of the melted limb before the damage was repaired within moments.

"Aw great...I think I know what happened to that Techadon," Manic cringed as the others rejoined them.

"The what?" Knuckles and Julie-Su blinked at that.

"Very nasty robot that can adapt to whatever previously destroyed it," Manic explained.

"It was part of a series of them that Ragna pummeled for an entire night," Sonia added.

"...And the last one he fought was adapted to fight him, right?"

"Yup. Meaning it would be very…ooh…" Manic cringed in realization, "...He's as tough as Ragna."

"Which means…" Sonia began nervously as they looked over at Omega, "We're basically fighting Ragna…minus his arm that gives him those flames of his."

"Yep," Manic agreed before they ducked under a barrage of bullets, "...But replaced with more gun."

"Just our luck he's not here, huh?" Knuckles snorted.

"What are ya talkin' 'bout?" Sticks asked, "Of course he's here on the island."

"I meant right here with us to fight him," Knuckles groaned.

"Ohh...I'll go find him so he can clobber it!" Sticks cheered as she grabbed a vine and swung away.

"...I blame the dog and rabbit you and your brothers know for her," Knuckles deadpanned.

"Hah?!" Manic and Sonia gawked at that.

"Blame later…" Julie-Su groaned before tensing when Omega's arms converted to flamethrowers, "...RUN NOW!"

---

The Artificial Chaos formerly designated as Ursa Major and reclassified as 'Smoky' let out an annoyed synthesized growl, seeing the gouts of flame in the distance that was more than likely adding yet another wildfire. In his free paw was McGruff, grunting and snarling between whacks with Smoky's shovel.

"You blasted watery bear!" McGruff growled between hits until he managed to reach into his jacket and pushed a button, producing a shield that forced Smoky to drop him and back away, "Hah!" Smoky growled before whacking the shield hard, smashing it to pieces, "Aw…" Smoky smacked him away with his shovel, "NUTS!" he hit a tree, knocking it over, "Ugh...Soundwave?"

=Report, Agent McGruff= Soundwave replied before a synthesized roar went off.

"How do you avoid being mauled by a bear made of water?" McGruff asked, his ears drooping as Smoky charged on all fours.

=Produce enough heat to cause evaporation or produce enough electricity to perform electrolysis=

"...Ulp," McGruff gulped before Smoky smacked him with a paw, sending him clear over the trees.

Smoky snorted as he put his hat back on. Stupid dog.

---

Grimlock grunted as he broke yet another tree with his body. Abominus roared once more, jumping at Grimlock only for him to roll out of the way.

"Ugh...This bad…" Grimlock grunted as he looked at his Omnitrix, "Enough for one more…"

Abominus roared as he swung his fist at Grimlock. Grimlock tapped the Omnitrix and a flash of green light went off. Abominus looked around, realizing his enemy was gone.

"What happened? Where did he go?" Lien-Da questioned.

"He's changed forms again," Shockwave noted, "A pity. I was getting quite the data from his Cybertronian form."

Abominus growled as he looked around before vines erupted from the ground, ensnaring his arms. Abominus roared, ripping several vines off only for more to regrow and wrap around his arms. Fireballs slammed into his face, making the combiner screech in anger.

"I hate using him for so long…" Swampfire groaned, partially emerging from the ground and hitting him with another fireball, "Even in a regenerating alien, it feels like my insides are all chopped up with a rusty blender."

"...So that form has a negative effect on Ben Tennyson…" Shockwave noted, "Interesting…"

"Ah great. Forgot about you guys," Swampfire scowled before Abominus stomped on him...before he emerged behind the combiner with an annoyed look, "Seriously?! I'm already feeling pain, I don't need more!" 'And I can't even go Ultimate since Ultimate Swampfire can't regenerate.' "Why does Eggman need the Master Emerald so badly anyway?!"

"That is none of your concern."

"Given what he did in the past, I can't help but be concerned!" Swampfire replied before throwing several seeds he grabbed off his shoulders before they landed on Abominus and quickly sprouted into more vines, fully ensnaring his inner joints and causing the combine to collapse with a roar.

"Hmm...Will need to develop some more safety features to avoid this," Shockwave noted just as they heard a beeping that made Lien-Da and Shockwave look to see Swampfire time out.

"Ugh…" Ben cringed, holding his side, 'Not everything got healed up…and I still need to deal with these two since their troops fled when I went Grimlock.'

"Heh. This will be over quick," Lien-Da smirked, taking a step forward before Shockwave halted her.

"Seismic activity has been detected," Shockwave noted before the ground before them broke up, letting Roll, Sonic, and Ragna-the latter two holding onto Roll's tail-emerge from it, "The prince, his fiancee, and Ragna the Bloodedge."

"...heh. Sorry we're late," Sonic smirked to Ben, "Ninja problem…"

"Ah great. It's the purple metal cyclops," Ragna snorted, "And he brought a midget red skank, too."

"...This day just keeps on pissing me off," Lien-Da growled as she summoned her whips.

"Hey. I call 'em as I…" Ragna began before noticing Abominus, "...The fuck did we miss?!"

"New combining robot," Ben replied, "I'm timed out and my insides are messed up from being Grimlock for so long. Tag in while my Omnitrix recharges?"

"...With pleasure," Ragna smirked, cracking his knuckles just as the Combiner broke out of his binds, "COME ON!" he roared as he charged at it.

"...In the meantime, w-" Sonic began before he and Roll dodged an electric whip hitting the ground.

"Sorry…" Lien-Da spoke as she stepped forward, "I don't think so, hedgehog."

"...Oh yeah? Well you can't hit…" Sonic began as he became a blur and ran around her, "What you can't s-!" he yelped when a whip grabbed his leg, causing him to crash into the ground before he was tossed into Ben, "Oof!"

"Yeah...not the first time I've dealt with you before," Lien-Da smirked, "Different Zones...same cocky attitude." she barely blocked Roll's blade with her whip, "Though you are new. No version of you back in my original Zone."

"Pleasure to know that since it means you don't know what I can fully do," Roll replied as Yacker waved at Lien-Da.

"BURST!"

Lien-Da grunted as heat erupted off Roll's transformed sword as its new size also altered its weight, 'Forgot about that!' she yelped when Roll swung her sword, the force sending her rolling across the ground, "Shockwave, a little help here please!"

"Hmm…"

"...Oh I know you're not examining the fight! Finitivus used to pull that shit too!"

---

Chaos 0 barely peeked out of the water held in the shrine before going back into it. Atop a nearby cliff, Onslaught lowered a pair of metal binoculars. At his sides were his teammates with Hood, Conquering Storm, and Clove behind them.

"Clever bugger. If he hadn't poked out just now, I would've given an all clear and we'd be scrapped," Onslaught noted, "Swindle, Brawl."

"Here ya go," Swindle smirked, handing the alien 'sponge' to Brawl, who loaded it into one of his tank cannons and transformed to his vehicle form.

"Blast Off, Vortex."

"Wind's coming from the north-east at moderate conditions," Vortex informed.

"Adjust your cannon by five degrees north and six degrees east, Brawl," Blast Off advised.

"...I really didn't like you used me for those traps…" Hood hissed at the girls.

"It was the only way…" Conquering Storm stated.

"I can't let this break," Clove added, hefting the device up.

"...One day, you and everyone else will bow to me...as you should to a king," Hood threatened.

"Locked on, Onslaught," Brawl informed.

"Fire," Onslaught ordered.

Brawl fired and the 'sponge' went high into the air. It spun a bit before finally falling down and crashing into the water of the shrine. Before Chaos could register it, all the water-and him-were absorbed into the sponge.

"Secure the area!" Onslaught ordered as the Combaticons were quick to respond and move out, leaving him with the trio to escort, "Right this way."

"Thanks," Clove nodded as she rushed out for the Master Emerald.

"...Don't even think about it," Conquering Storm frowned at Hood.

"What?"

"You are not using the emerald for your crown."

"...I was not thinking that," Hood denied.

"You have a receipt from Swindle for looking it over," the kunoichi replied, holding up said receipt.

"How did…?!"

"SHH! Quiet…" Clove hissed as she cautiously approached the shrine.

"All clear, ma'am," Blast Off informed, saluting Clove, "You are free to begin the mission's goal."

"Thank you," Clove nodded, taking a deep mental breath as she began to approach the Master Emerald, 'You can do this...for Cassia…'

"...Something seems off…" Conquering Storm whispered, "The hedgehog and his team are distracted, along with the guardian, and yet...there's an uneasiness in the air."

"Are you seriously tempting things when we're close to finishing?" Hood asked in disbelief.

At the top of the stairs, Clove looked upon the Master Emerald. In all honesty to herself, it was something stunning to behold. With its size alone, it was impressive. She then shook her head, trying to focus on the mission at hand… to get the cure sorely needed for her sister. Hefting the device, she carefully placed it on the Master Emerald before activating it, causing it to absorb some of the emerald's energy. Inside of it, the bow twitched as its 'eye' began to dart around. It seemed to 'unravel' into a mass of tentacles that shot around, trying to break it only to flinch and shift back into a bow shape the moment any of the tentacles touched the green energy that was now being absorbed.

"Okay...Almost there. We just need enough and…" Clove began before she noticed the color and glow on the Master Emerald fluctuating, "What? ...no no...is it…?" she quickly turned her communicator on, "Lord Eggman, the device is sucking in too much of the Master Emerald's energy...or rather..." her eyes widened in realization and dread, "...The bow is trying to absorb the Master Emerald itself!"

=Observe the bow!= Eggman ordered =What does it look like it's doing?=

"It was trying to escape earlier, shifting into a mass of tentacles even. But touching the energy being absorbed from the emerald seemed to harm it," Clove replied, looking at it to see its 'eye' darting around in a panic, "It seems to be panicking as well."

=I see=

"Orders?" Clove asked.

=Move away from it, now= Eggman ordered as the Master Emerald flickered between all the colors of the Chaos Emeralds in a fluctuated discord =If it g-bzzt!=

"Sir? Sir?! Sir!" Clove shouted before she noticed the Master Emerald began to spark, "?! ...Combaticons, move back!"

"Wh...?" Blast Off began before a massive surge of energy came off the Master Emerald, the resulting shockwave hitting everyone there as it surged through the entire island.

---

"Ahh!" Tikal gasped as she fell to her knees, her form going in and out as she held a hand over her heat, "K...Knuckles...something is wrong…the Master Emerald..."

"Little busy right n-OW!" Knuckles screamed as Omega tossed him into a tree.

"The Master Emerald?" Manic asked, his armor dented and cracked in several places, "What's wrong with it?"

"...Shoot! This was a diversion!" Sonia realized.

"...This smells like my sister's doing…" Julie-Su frowned before turning her communicator on, "Sonic, Roll, do you copy? ...Sonic, do you copy?!...Damn it. Communications are down…"

"It's G.U.N's revenge! They're doing this for what I did back on my island!" Sticks exclaimed.

"Sticks, this is not…!" Sonia began before she tensed, "...Manic…"

"Yeah, sis?"

"Didn't Tsubaki's weapon use to have the power to disrupt radio waves and such?"

"That's what everyone from their planet that knows it tells us," Manic replied before a shadow came over them.

"Termi…" Omega began, his blade held high over to strike down at them when a distorting, multicolored shockwave washed over him, causing his body to spark, "Te-r-TER-T-t-t-t-TeRmiNA! Bzzzrt!" he stumbled back, dropping his sword as his body erupted in electricity before collapsing, smoke billowing out of him as his optics lost their glow, "termi...a…"

"Wh…" Julie-Su began before the shockwave hit her, causing her mechanical arm to spark along with her metal dreadlocks before her limb stopped working and her mechanics to start smoking, "GAH!"

"...The hell was that?!" Manic gawked.

---

"Gh!" Ragna grunted as he gripped his arm while his red eye closed, "The hell?!"

"Ragna, what's wrong?" Sonic asked.

"Goddammit...this is like when you go super," Ragna growled, "Don't tell me the idiot Echidna can do that, too."

"Huh?" Sonic blinked before the shockwave soon came upon them, "WOAH!"

"What?!" Lien-Da gasped before it hit her and Shockwave, "?! GAH!"

Shockwave collapsed, sparking heavily before his optic turned off with smoke billowing out of his body. Ben's eyes widened before the shockwave hit him. The Omnitrix began to flicker wildly in multiple colors until finally settling on yellow for several moments until reverting to green once more.

"What was that?" Roll asked before yelping as smoke came out of her hair, forcing her to shake it and cause several sparking devices to fall out and break apart, "Ah! Nani kore?!"

Abominus attempted to strike at the group before the shockwave hit it, causing it to spark heavily before began to fall and separate into its separate pieces. The optics of them all turned off as smoke billowed from them as Lien-Da collapsed, cringing as smoke leaked from her mouth.

"Ack...ack...damn it...what...what was…" Lien-Da coughed as she tried to stand.

"Whatever that was fried all the tech we had," Sonic noted, tossing his now-broken Binocucom to the side before glancing at the Omnitrix, "Well...almost all tech."

=TIME/SPACE ANOMALY DETECTED= the Omnitrix spoke

"...And the red flags are raising…" Ragna grunted.

"Wait...the Artificial Chaos!" Roll gasped.

"Hethvef24757..." Yacker whimpered.

---

"H...help! I've fallen...and I can't get up!" Hood screamed as he laid flat on his back.

"S..silence…" Conquering Storm hissed, her eyes shut as she held a hand over them.

"Ah...my...legs…" Clove whispered, grunting as she tried to stand up, only for her legs to spark as she grunted.

The Conbaticons, unfortunately...they all laid out around the shrine, sparking heavily as they glitched in and out. Swindle reaching into his torso and pulled out a sphere.

"G-gotta THanK ThE V-V-v-v-v-v-Vo-o-oO-O-O-VoK…" Swindle grunted before squeezing the sphere, causing a silver liquid to spray out and coat the five machines before the sparking stopped after another moment, "...Phew…"

"What the slag hit us?!" Brawl demanded.

"Something far stronger than a normal electromagnetic pulse," Onslaught guessed, "Swindle?"

"Like I said. Thank the alien race known as 'the Vok' for this nifty little gadget," Swindle smirked, holding the sphere up, "Nanomachines that perform accelerated repairs within three seconds after contact with machinery. Nice beings, the Vok. Always enjoy having their gadgets tested out if it doesn't mess with one of their experiments."

"Well you should've used it on us first!" Hood snapped.

"He made the wiser move," Conquering Storm hissed as Swindle knelt down to her and gently squeezed it, letting a drop fall on her face, letting the nanomachines go to work on her eyes while he moved on to Clove and then Hood, "If he hadn't performed it on himself first, he wouldn't be able to do this now."

"Uh, Boss? Grand Bosses?" Blast Off spoke up.

"What is it?" Onslaught asked, helping up Clove.

"...I think Lien-Da's family is here."

"Wh...what?" Clove asked as she slowly opened her eyes...only for them to widen at what she saw.

Standing on the other side of the shrine, emerging from a distortion of black and green energies, was a large, almost giant group of armored, almost echidna like-beings in pitch-black armored suits sporting glowing blue symbols on their foreheads as they each bore different weapons. A few parted ways as what looked like a male echidna stepped through the group and up to the front. The male Echidna...looked like an older male Lien-Da. He wore a brown cloak acting as a cape of sorts, exposing the black sleeveless shirt, slim camo-pants with a utility belt on his waist, and the completely robotic arm replacing the left arm. It looked to be a near-perfect copy of the organic right arm, but two long, jagged spikes emerged from the middle of the outside of the arm going a few inches past the robotic hand with three crescent spikes emerging from the shoulder and pointed upwards. His face was set in a scowl, his left eye a brilliant amethyst while the right eye was a robotic eye.

"Wh...what the…"

The echidna inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly, "Do you feel it, my brethren?" the armored soldiers stood at attention, "At last...we are free. You are free after years of isolation..." he closed his eyes before they opened, "?! What?" he looked out to two different directions, "Could it be…?" his head snapped to the eight, "Detain them." he pointed to a group, "Head to the east." he waved an arm to the rest, "Secure the land. I will be going to the north."

"Oh this ain't good," Vortex noted.

"Combaticons, combine into Bruticus!" Onslaught ordered.

"Hm...A gestalt," the echidna noted, "Interesting." his non-robotic eye and hand glowed before he waved it at Bruticus, causing it to glow the same as the echidna's eye and hand, "Obey."

"Bruticus…" the combiner knelt down onto a knee, his coloration turning crimson with an emblem resembling a side-view of an echidna head over a demonic spark of fire appearing on his torso, "Obeys."

"...Oh that cannot be good…" Hood gulped.

"It gets worse," Conquering Storm replied as staves that were glowing on the ends were aimed at the three, each held by an armored echidna.

Seven of them quickly went up to the top of the shrine, carrying strange stones resembling crossbows with the strings made of a crimson energy.

"This appears to be the cause," the lead one noted, three red stars on his left chest, as he looked at the Master Emerald, still flickering between the multiple colors while the container had fallen off, the glass now made of green crystal with the bow now still, its 'eye' dull.

---

"Sir!" a rabbit Mobian with his left eye replaced with a robotic implant and wearing a doctor's coat called as he approached Eggman as he fiddled with various programs and controls, "The deterioration in all those that used the bow has ceased and is regressing back to their original state."

"What?!" Eggman tensed as he looked over, "Are you sure?!"

"Sir, we triple checked before I came to deliver this update," the rabbit replied, "Whatever has happened is nothing short of a miracle."

"...Good. Please, tend to them and inform their families of their recovery," Eggman ordered before waiting until the rabbit left to turn to Soundwave, "Report."

=Lord Eggman, we have lost all communications with all mechanical field troops on the island along with communications with all organic field troops on the island= Soundwave informed =However, for a brief moment, communications resumed for the Combticons until it was disabled due to reprogramming protocols. Furthermore, communications have been reenabled for Conquering Storm, Clove, and Hood. Visuals obtained from Conquering Storm's eyes have resulted in us disabling their communications to avoid hacking from a technopath=

"Show me the visuals. I want to see what we're dealing with," Eggman ordered.

=As you command= Shoundwave replied as he typed on a holographic keyboard and caused a monitor to float over, displaying the recording of Bruticus and the echidna.

"An Echidna?! Could he be from where Lien-Da is from?" Eggman pondered.

=Negative. Based on visual details, the echidna is a match for the description of an echidna that Lien-Da confirmed as KIA in her Zone= Soundwave replied.

"...And they did inform us that Freedom Fighters were on the island?"

=Affirmative=

"..." Eggman facepalmed with a sigh, "Can one simple operation just go right?"

=...lo? H...lo?= Lien-Da's voice barely came from one of the intercoms.

=Vocal patterns are a match for Lien-Da= Soundwave informed.

=lo? He...lo? Hello?= her voice soon turned clearer.

=Whatever you're going to say needs to be one soon= another voice noted.

=Vocal patterns match that of Ben Tennyson's Galvan form designated as 'Greymatter'= Soundwave informed.

"...Put her on screen. Now!" Eggman ordered.

=Attempting= Soundwave replied before the screen soon flickered and became a fizzling image of Lien-Da with Greymatter on her arm, cables on her arm connected to Shockwave's open frame.

=Finally...been trying to contact you...what's going on?!= Lien-Da demanded.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Eggman snapped before motioning to the screen showing the male echidna, "Also mind explaining this?!"

=?!...Th...how...K..Kragok...he...he should be…= Lien-Da began before noticing the armored beings behind him =?! ...What? H...how?=

=From how you're acting, he was dead in your Zone?= Greymatter questioned, messing with something before the static cleared fully.

=Yeah...and those armored beings with him are supposed to be a race of Echidna I didn't even think existed!= Lien-Da barked =A complete and utter myth even!=

=For the record, I blame you assholes coming here and the time travelling asshole who told us to come here!= Ragna barked off-screen.

"...Report," Eggman groaned.

=A shockwave that, based on the arc and speed of it, emanated from the Master Emerald Shrine has fried nearly all the technology in a 100 kilometer radius= Greymatter explained =I say 'nearly' due to the Omnitrix functioning still=

=...and if I had a guess, Kragok and the Nocturnus Clan appeared shortly after…= Lien-Da guessed.

"The what?" Eggman raised a brow.

=A race of Echidna's which-like I said-is supposed to be a myth. Legends said they conquered lands and nearly took over the entire planet, only to suddenly disappear and never be heard from again= Lien-Da explained.

=If anything, I'd bet this is our version of them and not the one you had= a certain hedgehog's voice noted.

"...Don't even bother, Soundwave," Eggman sighed, "Who else is there, Lien-Da?"

=Ragna the Bloodedge, Sonic the Hedgehog, his fiancee Roll Sakurai, and Ben Tennyson= Lien-Da replied =As you can tell, Shockwave's down=

=My sis and bro are here on the island if that helps= Sonic added

=Will you shut it?!=

=What? Just trying to lighten the tension=

=Not the time for that= Ragna growled =Roll, gag him!=

=Gag me? Why I…= Sonic began before he was cut off.

=...You don't want to know how she's gagging him. But to be clear, you won't hear from her either= Lien-Da informed as Greymatter looked away from something off-screen.

"...Regardless, if this Nocturnus clan is as bad as you say they are, especially with this Kragok leading them…" Eggman noted before sighing, "Your orders are this: find your troops and you are to work with the Freedom Fighters on dealing with this situation. And before you argue, this is being considered on the level of the ARK falling."

=...good. Because if the Nocturnus clan gets off the island with my brother leading them...who knows what kind of damage they'll cause...especially if they take over Mobotropolis a…= Lien-Da began before she was suddenly cut off.

"Hello? Hello?! ...They must be trying to block the signal," Eggman frowned.

=Lord Eggman, should we deploy more troops?=

"No, Soundwave. That Kragok...he's a technopath, meaning he can control technology. The majority of our troops have technology or are made of technology," Eggman frowned, "What goes on upon that island...is up to the ones already on there."

---

GT: And there we go. Sorry it took so long.

SZ: Yeah...life..life got in the way again. That, and a lot of new stories. Thankfully we're in the mood for this again thanks to the IDW Sonic comics...still hoping we can adapts some characters into it. I mean, we did moe or less tease Tangle and Whisper last chapter if I recall, so hopefulyl we can adapt more into this story.

GT: Aye. So please read and review.