Chapter Eight – Vengeance
Tails worked all night on his computer, emailing over video footage, and preparing his plan for battle. He notice he didn't get a peep out of either of the Elementals all night. Sonic just slept, on the table, and Shadow, quietly flickered away, as his living flames, in the roof. Tails smirked, heavily suspecting that he too was asleep, though he suspected the Ultimate Lifeform would never admit it in the morning. Shadow, before the explosion, never used to sleep, but now, everything had changed. Tails wondered if it was constant changing of form, the morphing, that was tiring.
But regardless, Tails was still stunned. He had no idea how the Hedgehogs were able to manipulate the Chaos Energy the way they did, but he took the opportunity to fully examine Sonic, while he was lying still. But he kept his distance, to try and work that out. However, he was correct with what he'd suspected had happened to the Blue Blur. Sonic had no literal physical body, it was gone. But his essence or life-force had survived, and had moulded itself to huge quantities of Chaos Energy, transforming him, into a living being of another kind. An Elemental. Tails heaved, suspecting Shadow was too.
Regardless, he was reading on Sonic, that there was significantly more the Blue Blur could potentially do, then he'd shown, but where have they been for the last ten years? He had an idea, but that true? Soon, dawn rose, as Tails worked at his computer console, getting messages from around the Resistance. The Restoration was already up and running, and the broadcast about the Black Comet had already been done. It had caused panic, especially in Empire City, where it was declared it would land, and it caused people to leave the city in their droves. Tails heaved, hearing the pandemonium outside, in the distance. He hadn't wanted to cause hysteria, but he knew it was the only way to get people moving out and to safety.
Suddenly, Tails felt quiet breathing behind him, but a feeling of intense heat. A certain Fire Elemental back in his Black Hedgehog form. He smirked.
"Morning Shadow." He smiled. "Did you sleep well?" He absentmindedly asked. Shadow gulped, somewhat groggy, as he growled.
"I...er.." He stammered, but then heaved, realising that lying really wasn't worth it, especially to the Fox. "Yes." He admitted. Tails giggled, as suddenly, Shadow's ears twitched, towards the front door. "There's a lot of noise out there?" He hissed, indicating the front door, his incredibly sensitive hearing picking everything up. Tails nodded, not surprised that Shadow could hear so well.
"Yeah, it's Empire. We had to cause panic, to get the city evacuated. Not ideal, but it's working." He heaved. Shadow smirked. Hearing that, that city was in utter chaos, immediately improved his mood. He hated it that much. Suddenly, Tails grabbed his handheld, as Shadow stretched, as the Fox suddenly caught a whiff of something, on the Fire Elemental. He frowned.
"Coffee?" He wondered. Shadow immediately whirled, smirking hard.
"Yes, black, Fox, if you have any." He nodded, then he looked at the still sleeping Blue Blur. "We don't need to eat and drink, but we still can, if we choose. I think it just disintegrates inside of us. It doesn't actually fuel anything." He added. Tails somewhat stunned, just nodded, and soon he was sat at a table, opposite the huge Black Hedgehog, the both of them with mugs of coffee in the hands. That was when Tails realised he'd never just stopped and actually spent time, talking to the Ultimate Lifeform. In the end, he wasn't that bad. Shadow took the coffee, and drank very deeply from it, groaning with the pleasure of it. Tails grabbed his handheld, but the Fire Elemental growled and hard.
"If you want to examine me, Fox, you can, but under two conditions." He spat. Tails gulped, looking terrified. He nodded. Shadow smirked. "One, you share all your findings with me. I am as curious as to what I am, as much as you are." He leered. Immediately, the Fox sighed with the relief. He'd been expecting something, more dire then that.
"Yeah, ok, that's fair." He added, but then Shadow growled, eyeing the Fox down extremely strongly, not liking what he was seeing. Truthfully, it was turning his stomach.
"And two. Ditch the white coat." He demanded, coldly. Tails's eyes widened, as he looked down, and saw he still wearing the scientist's white coat. Immediately, he threw it off himself, and onto a nearby chair. He was well aware, that Shadow had endured horrendous experiments at the hands of evil scientists aboard the Ark, when he was first created. It had, very well known, left him with a immediate hatred for anyone who wore one. However, the Fox wasn't one of them. Tails gulped and hard.
"Sorry." He stammered. Shadow nodded, approvingly, but then he frowned, when he saw Tails intensely shiver, now understanding why he wore it. Smirking hard, Shadow immediately increased his internal temperature, and as beautiful controlled flames erupted from his back only, away from the Fox, and soon he'd warmed up the entire workshop. Tails immediately noticed and grabbed his handheld, intensely scanning the Fire Elemental. He gasped.
"Thank you." He nodded, noticing the now super warm barn, but then he gulped. "That is staggering. I'm registering temperatures on you well into the hundreds and I suspect you could go into the thousands of degrees." He stammered, turning around the handheld, to show the Ultimate Lifeform. "The flames? Do they hurt?" He wondered. Shadow heaved, finishing his coffee, dying his flames down, and shook his head.
"No. I can feel the intense heat, but it doesn't cause me any pain. It did to begin with, but it significantly eased, to now almost nothing." He informed. But then Tails just giggled, like a little kid, bouncing slightly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm really curious. Those living flames of yours. What's it like?" He grinned. Shadow just smirked, heavily eyeing up the Fox.
"Alright, you win. Turning into a ball of flames. Like I said, it doesn't pain me, or cause me discomfort, but it feels incredibly bizarre. I can see and hear everything, have full access to the superpowers I had before, and I can talk. In fact, it's so weird, that it's taken some time to get used to." He hissed, as Tails nodded. "But, it's also extremely comforting. The form of which my new Elemental instincts want me to be. Why do you think the Blue Blur is a spark so much. The same reason." He added, but then he growled, as Tails gulped. "I know I was dangerous before, but now, it's on a entirely different scale. I am well aware of that." He spat, but then he heaved. "I'm not asking for your trust. Too much had happened, but..." he stammered, letting the sentence hand. But Tails nodded, finishing it for him.
"You want to be given a chance." He smiled. Shadow nodded. Tails agreed, that was fair, but suddenly, he frowned. "But the explosion? What happened?" He asked, and with that, and another coffee, Shadow decided to tell the Fox everything.
He had no reason not to. Where he and Sonic woke up. The shock of finding out that they had no only survived, but changed. The two months of their trails and tribulations of trying to work everything out, to successfully figure that it was G.U.N. who'd tried to kill them. Tails growled, not surprised at that, or of the fact that it had taken then several months just to get their heads around everything. All morning, they talked, scanned, monitored and within the workshop, they tried all sorts. Shadow being surprisingly cooperative. Tails heaved, the Ultimate Lifeform really had been through the wars. They even tried a Chaos Emerald. Unfortunately, not real ones. Knuckles wouldn't allow Tails to have one from Angel Island, so he'd created his own fakes. They had exactly the same properties, but we were slightly less powerful, and single use only. Shadow tried to wield it. But it failed, as the fake emerald, just shone brightly, then suddenly, it cut it's power, before completely disintegrating in Shadow's hand. The Black Elemental frowned, but Tails wasn't that surprised. He heaved.
"I thought that might happen. You can't wield the Chaos Emeralds, not anymore. Neither you or Sonic can. As Elementals, you have more Chaos Energy contained inside of your bodies, then all seven of the powerful gemstones put together. They are shutting down to protect themselves, hence the power cut, before the fake collapsed." He analysed. Shadow nodded, not happy, but it did make sense. But there was another who could still wield the Chaos Emeralds, so the mighty gemstones were still worth gathering. But suddenly, Tails gasped, as something else bothered him, which Shadow had yet to mention in their talk.
"But you'd been missing for a decade?" He wondered. But Fire Elemental just shrugged, as he nodded.
"I don't know. It was a blink of an eye for us, Fox." He hissed. "One second, we're getting engulfed in that explosion, the next, we're waking up in that cavern." He spat. But the Fox just downright stared, frowning hard.
"The thing is, I know that cavern, and it was intensely searched, after the war ended. I even looked through the entire place, myself, there was no sign of either of you." He gulped. Shadow gasped.
"What?" He stammered. But the Fox nodded.
"And trust me, if you were there, we would have found you." He puzzled. But Shadow just went white, as the Fox just frowned. "So where were you?" He asked. But the Black Elemental just gulped, somewhat disconcerted. He shook his head.
"I have no idea." He admitted, repeating himself, as he rubbed his face, and ran his fingers through his head quills. He looked at a still sleeping Sonic, knowing the Blue Blur wouldn't have a clue either, but Tails frowned, as he stared at Shadow.
"You know, with Chaos Energy, time is relative." He informed. But Shadow growled.
"What do you mean?" He asked, but Tails heaved.
"Well, Chaos Energy had no beginning and no end. It is always there. Time, with regards to it, has no meaning. It was here on Mobius, long before we were, and will still be here, long after we're gone. That's why Elementals are eternal." He informed, but Shadow just blinked, as Tails just shrugged. "I think both you and Sonic were vanished to the very ether of Chaos Energy itself, right to it's very core. It's heart, where I suspect, Elementals are born. Then, when the process was done, you were instantaneously returned to us, but ten years on. I think it took so long because it was slowly converting all the incredible superpowers both you and Sonic have." He shrugged. "But it's only a theory, I can't prove any of it." He heaved, but Shadow smirked. What the Fox was saying seemed to ring an element of truth to it. It couldn't put his finger on what, but it was there. His smirk broadened.
"You know what, Fox, I'll take it. Right now, it's the only explanation we're got."
Suddenly, Sonic finally awoke, and upon seeing his old best friend, immediately got to his feet, and in pure excitement, ran for the Fox, his arms open wide, electricity flying everywhere. Tails squealed, but Shadow, with incredible Super-Speeds, just moved extremely fast, and grabbed the Blue Blur around the middle, stopping him just short of the Fox. He desperately struggled, but Shadow activated his Super-Strength, and held him strong. Shadow growled, as the Blue Blur panicked.
"Sonic." He hissed, but he got ignored, as the Blue Elemental was still trying to fight himself free of him. But Shadow snapped and hard. "Sparky!" He growled, which finally got the Blue Blur's attention. He heaved and hard, thanks goodness he didn't transform into his blue spark. He would have stood no chance saving the Fox. He growled. "You can't hug him, Idiot, you'll kill him." He spat. But Sonic's face fell, as he almost cried, his bottom wobbling, as he whimpered and hard, whining rather loudly. Shadow growling hard, just dropped him and walked away, his hands over his ears. "Please don't do that." He begged. "Your better then this." He added, indicating that a hero should never whimper.
But Sonic was left in a heap on the floor, sniffing hard, and unsurprisingly enough, somewhat scared. He still didn't truly understand what he was, and was struggling with the wide berth, he was now forced to keep between himself and his friends. At least he had Shadow, and Tails now understood why the speedsters had stuck together so much. They needed each other, they understood each other, the both of them going through the same thing. Tails sat on the floor, with Sonic, a short distance from him. He learned he could safely give and take items, from an Elemental, but not touch them directly, as he handed the Blue Blur a coffee. He smiled, still unable to believe his best friend was still with him.
"Hey, we'll work this out. I promise." He grinned, as he looked back at the Ultimate Lifeform behind him. "Your not on your own." He added, as Shadow nodded. Yes, he'd finally decided he was staying. Permanently. He felt a deep loyalty towards Sonic, as a fellow Elemental. But truthfully, he didn't really want to deal with all this, on his own, either He could, if he needed to, but he didn't have to, and right now, he'd take it. He had their respect, and so long as he didn't screw it up, he was very quickly gaining their trust. He was still dangerous, but everyone knew that, and therefore they treated him accordingly, which he was fine with.
Suddenly, as he stared at the Blue Blur, the Fox had a brainwave, as he vanished, and then after a few minutes, Tails was came back, looking like the world had ended. Shadow frowned, as the Fox looked bizarre. He was wearing, what looked like a rubber helmet, on top of which he had a rubberised welding mask. Then from head to foot, including boots, he wore an rather oversized outfit. A suit, that was jet black, somewhat kevlar like. He bounced, holding his arms out.
"What about this?" He asked, pointing to his suit. "It's my, highly specialist, but very expensive, rubber outfit, that has been lined and heavily interwoven with Ebonite. I originally bought it for my high-voltage work, that some of my inventions require." He grinned. Shadow cocked his head to the side, as he stared at the now strange Fox and then the Electric Elemental. But truthfully, he wasn't convinced. Sonic's electricity was so vast, and as so dangerous, that he wasn't sure any clothing, no matter how high grade, would actually protect the Fox. But as Shadow looked between the best friends, and how much they were both reeling, the Fire Elemental just heaved. But he growled, directly at Tails
"Fine, but you are still stupidly risking your life by doing this, even with that ridiculous outfit. His electricity can still blast straight through that. It's lightning grade." He hissed. Suddenly, Tails stopped, the Ultimate Lifeform having, rather brutally, popped his happy bubble. But Shadow sighed, as he rounded on the Blue Blur. "But it might work. If, and I mean if, the idiot can stay extremely calm, enough to die down the worse of the electricity." He blasted.
Both Sonic and Tails gulped. That was a big ask, especially now, but as the old best friends just looked at each other, they both wanted this, but truthfully, Sonic was terrified. One wrong move, and he'd kill the Fox, but as he looked as Shadow, and at his incredible strength, he realised he wasn't alone. Maybe the Fire Elemental was fast enough to pull him away, when things got too intense, but as Sonic heaved, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
The Blue Blur took several deep breaths, closed his eyes, and desperately tried to calm down. Electricity was still zipping around him, but slowly but surely, it vanished, especially when Shadow grabbed his shoulder. The Fire Elemental's super still, and solid demeanour aiding beautifully, as Sonic just fed from it. Soon, all the pale blue sparks vanished, and it was only when Shadow was satisfied, with a nod, did he let the Blue Blur go.
The Electric Elemental immediately ran for the bizarre-looking black monster, that was his best friend, and just cuddled the life out of it, purring hard. Tails outright gasped, for two reasons. One, that Sonic appeared normal. His body was solid. His fur and quills were all there. It was like he'd never changed despite being an Elemental, made of nothing but pure Chaos Energy, and two. His Ebonite suit, buzzed horrendously, almost immediately, only just about holding back incredible voltages of the Sonic's electricity, even when the Blue Blur was this calm. The Fox was unharmed, but he doubted the suit would last long, before giving out. Shadow's warning about Sonic were true. Without the suit, Tails would indeed be killed, literally one touch being enough.
They only had a matter of minutes.
Tails heaved, and throw caution to the wind, as he just cuddled the Blue Blur back, their ten years apart meaning nothing. He was just so grateful he was still here, but soon, it was all over, just there was an almighty crack, as Shadow forcibly intervened, grabbing their arms, pulling them apart, just as Tails's Ebonite suit failed, saving his life. The intense heat of Shadow's hand, burning straight through the suit, and his clothes, badly blistering him. It caused the Fox to immediately ditch the suit, as it was left dangerously sparking on the floor, damaged beyond repair. Everyone was left panting hard, but Sonic just cried, his tears streaming down his face. He looked between the broken suit and the best friend, whom, thanks to the Fire Elemental, had survived the encounter, as horrendously short as it was. Suddenly, the Blue Blur wailed.
"I'm so sorry." He sniffed, but Tails put one of his hands up, horrified, the other, holding his arm, where he'd been badly burned. He didn't blame Shadow, at all. It was better to be injured, then dead. But he'd never seen Sonic cry, like this, before, and now desperately wanted to comfort him, but it was frustrating that he just couldn't. He gulped and hard.
"Hey, this isn't your fault." He nodded. He looked at Shadow. Their situation as Elementals wasn't his doing either. That bomb may have been aimed at him, but their miraculous survival, was pure Chaos Energy intervening, and wasn't anything orchestrated by either of them. But as further tears fell, Shadow just wondered over, and grabbed the Blue Blur and embraced him, as he cried his heart out on his shoulder. The Fire Elemental heaved. That pretty much summed up the last two months. All the dangers, freedoms, disasters and consequences, they had experienced since they had awakened like this, and yes, it had been tough.
Shadow had tried not to show it, but truthfully, it had, and now as he looked at the Fox, over his fellow Elemental's shoulder, they both wondered where this was going to go. But one thing was for certain, as Sonic finally calmed down, and settle, Tails realised that, what ever happened with this upcoming fight, the Elementals had to stay together.
Soon, the preparations were in full swing, as within a day, Empire City emptied very quickly, becoming almost deserted. Amy had been forced to move the safehouse, where Zephyr and all the children were. It was in Empire City, so obviously, they couldn't stay there. But the Pink Hedgehog was struggling to think of an alternative. Angel Island was out. With the Black Arms, it was a guaranteed target. It had taken a battering last time. So she went to Tails to help. In his workshop, The Fox heaved.
"I have a house, separate to his place. It's in Emerald Town, located west of Central City and south of Holy Summit." He suggested. But Amy huffed.
"Yes, but I've been there, Tails, and it's not a house, it's another workshop, and it's stuffed with more junk then this place is." She scowled. "It's not suitable for children." She spat. Shadow, who'd been stood in the background, just smirked, not surprised in the slightly that Tails's other premises was full to bursting. The Fox was a hoarder. Sonic who was also still there, just shrugged, having no idea. He was in significantly better spirits since the cuddle incident, as he and Tails had just spent a lot of time talking. They could still be friends, even if they couldn't physically embrace anymore. The Fire Elemental, as always, being the Blue Blur's lifeline. Suddenly, Shadow had a thought. He knew a place that was practically empty, the minimalist look, and wasn't currently being used.
His.
Shadow cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. He frowned.
"I take it, you need to, ideally, get the offspring, as far away from here as possible?" He asked. Amy growled, through gritted teeth.
"They're children, but yes." She hissed, through gritted teeth. She didn't really like Shadow, especially these days. They were friends during the war, and now, she just believed him to be too dangerous, to be trusted. But then Ultimate Lifeform smirked.
"What about Westopolis? I have an apartment there, which should fit your needs. You can borrow it." He leered. There was utter silence. Sonic then suddenly, exploded, lightning everywhere, as he dived on the Ultimate Lifeform, for an enormous hug, winding the Black Elemental yet again. But Shadow growled. "Hey, get off. You making me look bad." He snapped, thinking of his reputation. Tails just giggled, as he rounded on Amy.
"Actually, that would work. The Black Arms look as though they are not going to go anywhere near that city, and if we keep them to Empire, they won't." He smiled. Amy gulped, and looking at Shadow, she gulped, and with no other choice, she swallowed her pride, and nodded. Shadow's smirk broadened, as he looked at Sonic.
"Sparky, show them where it is." He asked, as the Blue Blur just squealed in pure excitement, and immediately ran for the door. He panted.
"Shads, your ace." He praised, as the Blue Blur disappeared, with Amy desperately running after him. Shadow then just sniggered to himself, as Tails just stared at him, now that they were alone.
"So you do care, underneath that hard, dark, black exterior of yours?" He wondered, but Shadow stopped, somewhat coldly growling, in response.
"I always did, Fox. It's just that I couldn't show it." He spat. But then Tails realised the truth, and gulped, hard.
"The genetic engineering?" He asked. Shadow nodded.
"Yes." He admitted. "Imagine spending your entire life behinds bars. A prison, and it was literally all you'd ever known." He explained. "Now envision waking up, and those bars are, suddenly, gone, and you finally have pure freedom, inside your own mind." He growled, but then he gulped, and hard, as he looked at the Fox. "But it's been difficult." He stammered. "Arguably more so, then finding out that I was an entirely new species. I thought it would be straightforwards, having such freedoms of choice, but in some cases, I found it incredibly daunting. Unsure what to do, or what the consequences would be." He heaved. But Tails just giggled.
"Welcome to life." He smiled. "Do you honestly think we get it right, first time? It's called making mistakes. It's how we all learn." He grinned. But Shadow huffed.
"Yes, but your mistakes are unlikely to get someone killed." He hissed. "I can't afford that, unless I'm willing to deal with the fallout." He spat. Tails looked at him, and nodded. The Ultimate Lifeform really couldn't get it wrong. Especially, now as an extremely powerful Fire Elemental. Before, his genetic engineering used to heavily steered him in the right direction, now he was entirely on his own, making the choice, and now he was left doubting himself, to make the right decision. But this, and the lending of his apartment, yes, he knew he was right, so long as he got it back, in one piece, afterwards. But as Tails looked outside, they were out of time.
Soon, dusk fell, and the almighty drone sounded in the distance, right over Empire City. The Black Comet had arrived. It landed on them, slightly sooner then expected, as the metallic additions to the mothership, around the tentacles at the back, turned out to be rocket boosters. They easily pushed the Black Comet through the planet's atmosphere, to the surface, with the greatest of ease. Something it would have not originally, have been able to do. Before the sun was even down, the mothership, was on top of them, droning it's enormous call, hovering over the city, beaming red light everywhere.
Showtime.
Suddenly, it sent out it's three long tentacles sideways, and they wrapped themselves around nearby skyscrapers, rather then digging themselves into the ground. In the quiet and deserted city, the Black Arms mothership, just hovered there, as if not doing anything. Finally, everyone arrived. Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Omega, Blaze, Silver and Amy. The Pink Hedgehog just getting back from Westopolis. Sonic and Shadow were at the very back, as planned, in the distance, watching events from the very edge of the city. But then Tails heard Shadow intensely swear and hard, through Sonic's communicator, next to him, did the Fox know something was wrong. In fact, the whole situation was weird. He grabbed his own communicator, and called down it. He gulped, and hard.
"Shadow, talk to me, what to you see?" He panted, giving him the chance he promised, which he noticed, but the Ultimate Lifeform's voice, just growled and hard.
"I don't know who these 'fakers' are, but they are 'not' the Black Arms." He spat. But Knuckles growled.
"Hey, what do you mean?" He responded down his own communicator. But Shadow heaved, grabbing Sonic's wrist, and speaking into his device.
"Everything about this whole situation, just feels off. The telepathy. The aliens used it, last time, horrendously, and it was how they were able to successfully manipulate me. But here, it's not the case they aren't using it, it's physically not there. I can't feel anything, and despite my changes, I should. Also I can see from here, the mothership. Those metallic additions. They aren't for show. They're super advanced mechanical technology. Someone had taken what was left of the Black Arms, when I outright destroyed them, and created something new." He blasted. "But how? I doubt the Black Arms, even a dying colony, would be that easy to tame. Telepathy defines them, so whose in charge? Black Doom is dead. I killed him." He growled. But Tails gulped into his communicator.
"Regardless, why are they here?" He stammered, but Shadow just coldly smirked.
"Revenge. Why else." He hissed. Everyone looked at each other, but Sonic growled, snatching it hand from his counterpart. He spoke down the communicator. He panted.
"Shads. Back off." He growled. "Ignore that, everyone, he doesn't know." He spat. That was true, Shadow didn't really know, the real reason why the Black Arms were back, if it was them. Regardless, He was now extremely keen to see, who was in charge. Who was ordinating this invasion?
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long, as finally, the Black Comet opened, and out poured thousands of soldiers. It was rammed, full of them, of every different type of Black Arm soldier and trooper available.
Black Warriors, Black Oaks, Black Wings, Black Volts, Black Assassins, Elite Soldiers and Black Bulls. All of them with the smooth skin, glazed over eyes, and easily recognisable black-and-red skin pigmentation. They were all armed with a laser-type weapon. But as the hoards charged from the mothership, and began attacking, it became immediately clear that something incredibly strange was going on. For those who were at in Westopolis, when the Black Arms last attacked, such as Knuckles, Tails and Rouge, the speed and efficiency of the aliens seemed to be odd, more advance, except in their weapons.
They weren't firing lasers, they were firing water.
What?
As Knuckles dodged, not trusting anything right now, but he noticed all the of Black Arms, every single alien, had various electronics implanted onto their bodies, and mechanically cyber-enhanced devices sitting on their skin. Whomever did this, was an expert had replacing organs and essential organic functions of a body, and replicating them with implants and electronic devices, creating a perfectly enhanced creature, stronger then the original. Creating cyborgs through Cyberisation, allowed a dying creature, to live again. But the Black Arms were all acting incredibly strange, but brutal, even desperate. However, they were trying to capture, not kill, but what was just downright bizarre, as all the soldier's eyes. They were all crisp beautiful light blue, solid colour, and a major juxtaposition from the rest of the alien's colour arrangement.
But the water? The Black Arms were all covered in it, as the attacked in all directions. From above, below, there was utter chaos, as they threw nearby cars, and benches everywhere. But they were more difficult to take out. Last time, two to three massive hits was enough to take out most, but now it was close to four to five. The Resistance was tiring and fast, and the water, seemed to be some kind of shield. It immediately fell after one hit, but regardless, it added more difficulty to the fight. Thankfully, the city was largely empty, but it didn't stop the aliens from ransacking the place, burning buildings and smashing skyscrapers.
However, to Tails, the water had registering a bizarre Chaos Energy and weirdly, a chaos signature. He could feel it. As soon as he saw the aliens, he ditched his weapon, ran to hide, and grabbed his handheld. This was definitely an analysis job. Find out what they were fighting before attacking, feeding the information back to the rest of the group. Suddenly, he frowned. Water, having a life-force? If it wasn't for the fact that Tails had, had the privilege of two Hedgehogs, who'd allowed him to study them for the past twenty-four hours, he'd have thought, it wasn't possible. Then he ran the same test of the water, as he had on Sonic and Shadow.
Positive.
Suddenly, Tails ran into the field, screaming at the top of his voice.
"Don't touch the water, it's Elemental." He panted.
Everyone in the Resistance nodded, as they all avoided the liquid as much as possible, but they were being threatened of becoming overwhelmed, by the sheer numbers of Black Arms. But suddenly, the ground began to rumble beneath their feet, as G.U.N. tanks came rolling in. Heavily armoured vehicles, jeeps and masses of troops, suddenly flooded the area, as General Luther, who was back, now in full battle gear, immediately ordered his army to engage the enemy. The clash was immense, as was bullets, and water pellets were being fired everywhere. The Resistance was grateful for the help, despite no one there trusting them. But Tails ran towards the Rhino as he engaged with the battle, as he easily took out several Black Oaks. But he growled at him.
"Whatever, it is, you punk Fox, I don't want to know. We're got this covered here?" He hissed, but then he looked around. "Where are your pet Hedgehogs?" He spat, but then he gulped as he looked around. This was the Black Arms, and Shadow not turning up? This was unheard of? Did they know something he didn't? He growled at Tails.
"Where are they?" He spat, but Tails just smirked, as he saw the G.U.N. soldiers start falling like flies.
"Don't touch the water." He repeated, as he backed off, and disappeared into the fighting, knowing full well he'd be ignored. More fools them, as G.U.N. began quickly struggling. Sonic and Shadow watched the chaos from a distance, the both of them desperate to get involved but Tails had held them back, especially when he found that there was a potential Water Elemental involved. He constantly updated them, but neither he, nor the Hedgehogs were convinced that the Water Elemental was leading this invasion.
Tails shook his head. No. From watching the Hedgehogs, he got the impression that Elementals were quite quiet creatures, who didn't really advertise themselves. Even Sonic. Despite his constant hyperactive electricity, he barely left Tails's barn workshop, to go exploring, and Tails had noticed that once he'd settled down after seeing everyone again, he barely spoke. So, the Water Elemental was unlikely to be in charge. But was it helping the Black Arms willingly, or by force? Tails, had no idea, as he gulped, somewhat fearing the Elemental Hedgehogs. But Shadow was fuming. He only agreed to stay back, until the leader showed, and he was struggling to keep a lid on Sonic's extreme bounciness. He was super keen to get going. Shadow heaved and grabbed him.
"Be still, my friend." He nodded. "We will get our chance, I promise." He growled. But he agreed with Tails. With a potential Water Elemental, and all the strangeness, better to hang back, for now, and see how it all plays out. As he watched the battle, Shadow noticed even the inside design of the Black Comet had changed, which caused him to smirk. In the previous invasion, one of the reasons the Black Arms were so dangerous, was that their forces, especially their troops, had infinite numbers. The clone-nesting pods in the Black Comet, could generate soldiers as fast as their were being destroyed on the ground.
But this new redesigned Black Comet, had no such pods. They had been removed, maybe by someone, whom, rather stupidly, didn't know their significance. Suddenly, he growled.
"The Black Arms soldiers." He spat. "Their army may be great, but it's not infinite." He hissed. "It's finite in number. The downed troops are not being replaced." He smirked. But Sonic gulped.
"Is that a good thing?" He wondered. But Shadow's smirk broadened.
"Potentially." He simply hissed, in response. Suddenly, Tails wailed down the communicator.
"Guys, we're got Black Arms heading towards the perimeter of Empire City. We need containment. Can you please either, turn them back or blast them to ash." He ordered. With an explosion of pure delight on Shadow's face, as his eyes glowed with pure fire, Sonic cheered into his communicator, as the Fire Elemental sped away, incredibly fast. He squealed.
"On it." He beamed, immediately chasing after him. But then they finally found the Black Arms, the Hedgehogs just let loose all hell, the aliens just disintegrating very fast against the powerful Elementals. They had no defence against their fire and electricity, but they did feel huge quantities of Chaos Energy in the water that surrounded them, as well as a consciousness. Shadow growled, as he immediately recognised the manipulations.
"That water. It's highly telepathic." He spat. "That's how the Black Arms are being controlled but it's by touch only. That's why I didn't feel anything. The telepathy isn't being broadcasted." He blasted, as Sonic immediately relayed the information back to the Resistance, but Shadow growled. "But the water, it's fragile. It has some defence but nothing against our Elemental powers." He leered, as Shadow activated his Pyrokinesis, and Sonic his Electrokinesis and between them, they just blasted to ash as Black Arms that made it to the very edges of the city. Suddenly, Tails's eyes widened, from the communicator, as he had been listening in.
"Telepathic?" He stammered to himself. Finally, it made sense as to why G.U.N. had been struggling so much. Not only were they fighting the Black Arms, but many of their own soldiers, whom had apparently turned against their own kin. All of them, were wet with the water. Tails, still avoiding the fight, found another hiding place, and began manically typing into his handheld, but unfortunately, it was too late.
The Resistance was caught. Knuckles screamed.
"Rouge." He bellowed, as the wife began immediately attacking him, suddenly, wet through. There was another scream, as Silver was taken. His Psychokinesis, causing utter havoc. The both of them had been caught in the power of the incredible telepathy, and it had turned them, their eyes now solid blue, with no pupils.
Finally, with all the chaos, at the top of the open door, he arrived, in a long, light brown workshop coat. A Human. He was a large, tall, beefy, man with a slightly pointier head, which was covered in bright blonde hair. He had a long, large nose, and an oversized moustache, also blonde, and very well kept. He had light blue eyes, and beneath his open coat, he had a sweater that was dark green and was also seen wearing dark green trousers, and light brown shoes. He smiled at his Black Arm's army disintegrating the city, but was someone fumed at the fact that barely anyone was around. He walked down the ramp, surrounded by bodyguards, demanding results from the battle. Tails, seeing him, blinked.
"Who are you?" He wondered. The Human was definitely a Robotnik, but the Fox had never seen him before. No one had, except Shadow, whom the Fox calls immediately. The Fire Elemental runs in, straight away, in his Hedgehog form, to view the new arrival for himself, but remained out of sight. After several minutes, he saw him, and the Black Hedgehog's jaw just hit the floor. He gulped, grabbing Sonic's communicator, who'd followed him.
"I know him." He stammered. "Well, of him. We never met. He had been on the Ark, but was gone just before I was even created. However, I was shown photographs. But he should be dead." He downright gasped. Suddenly, Shadow just growled, and hard. His flames exploding down his back, from the sudden explosion of anger, remembering what that filthy Human did, more then sixty years ago. Abandoning his daughter.
"He's Kintobor Robotnik, Maria's father."