- Chapter 54 -

The Monarch Descends

Metallic Madness Zone

The Freedom Fighters soon arrived in the Metallic Madness Zone, which had been converted into a construction site for the Titanic Monarch. The massive bot loomed overhead, and Sticks let out a gulp.

"Looks… a lot bigger up close, doesn't it?" the badger noted.

"So much bigger than the last one," Kat said nervously.

"Alright Sonic, how do we get in?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic looked around for a few moments before shrugging.

"He's tightened security and made some renovations since the last time we were here," he replied. "Nothing looks the same."

At that moment, they heard a "Psst!", and turned to see a hand waving them over from a hidden passage.

"Freedom Fighters," a feminine voice came. "In here. Hurry."

"Should we trust it?" Sally asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Knuckles questioned.

"Look, if you don't hurry, the Titanic Monarch will go online and take over the planet!" the voice snapped.

"Fair enough," Sonic conceded.

They all headed inside, where they were greeted by a green Mobian canary with blue eyes. Feathers were hanging in her face, covering one eye, and she was dressed in a familiar grey jumpsuit.

"And you are?" Tails asked.

"My name's Tekno," the canary replied. "I was hoping you'd get here before long."

"How many other prisoners are there?" Knuckles asked.

"Just me," Tekno replied.

"Wait…" Sally scratched her head. "Tekno... that sounds familiar."

"I studied under Dr. Ellidy, the man who created most of your gear, Princess," Tekno explained.

Sally looked at her inactive Ring-Blades, and then pulled Nicole out of her pocket before doing the same.

"You're a mechanic," she realized.

"Yeah," Tekno nodded. "One that's been forced to work for Robotnik for far too long. He found me gathering parts in the Scrap Brain Zone and put me to work."

She took a look at Shortfuse before wincing. "I'm the one who created the Megatal used in things like the Cybernik armor. And recently, he's had me slaving away helping construct the Titanic Monarch."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Shortfuse assured. "All that, it's on Eggman, not you."

"Besides, you're helping us now," Sonic added. "That's all that matters."

Tekno nodded, managing a grateful smile.

"We're gonna get you outta here, Tekno," Johnny promised. "But first, we gotta stop the Monarch."

"Follow me," Tekno told them. "I'll do what I can to help."

Tekno led them into the base, only to stop short. Their path was obscured by a cloud of pink-purple mist with faint sparkles.

"Oh no…" she let out.

"What is it?" Tails asked.

"Ruby Mist, we call it. It's like runoff, only it's from that Ruby"

"That's not good," Sonic mused.

Tensing, Sonic charged through the mist and disappeared. After a few minutes, he suddenly reappeared right behind them, just as surprised as they were.

"What the…" Rotor let out.

Sticks charged in next. Like Sonic, she came out right behind the group.

"It's a circle," she noted. "A really messed up circle."

"The Ruby Mist causes distortions in space-time," Tekno explained. "You go in there, there's no telling where it'll spit you back out."

"So it could spit us out somewhere else entirely," Bunnie said. "How do we get through it?"

"I've got an idea," Tails piped up.

He turned his back to the mist, beginning to slowly spin his tails before picking up the pace. The mist began to blow away, dispersing around them.

"How…" Tekno began, "How did no one ever think of that?"

"Just get moving!" Sonic snapped.

They hurried through, but some of the group did get caught in the mist as it came back up.

"Oh, no!" Sally cried.

Suddenly, Sticks came tumbling down a flight of stairs next to them, followed by Kat. The two landed in a heap before them, Kat sitting up.

"Hey!" Sticks' muffled voice came. "Get offa me, ya hairless ape!"

"Sorry, sorry," Kat replied. "You okay?"

She got off Sticks and helped her up.

"You think you can get me to a hospital?" Sticks asked. "I think I broke my tail."

"Come on, we need to keep moving," Sally insisted. "Hopefully we find the others who were swept up."

"Who all did we lose?" Kat asked.

Sonic looked around. "Looks like Keith, Chris, all of Rotor's group, Mina, and Shorty."

They kept going. Before long, a mist cloud appeared above them. Rotor came falling out, with Porker and Johnny bouncing off him. Rotor pried his face out of the ground, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs.

"We've been falling for thirty minutes!" the walrus shouted.

Kat blinked. "It's been like three."

"Time manipulation," Knuckles sighed. "Great…"

"When I said the Ruby Mist distorts space-time, I meant it," Tekno told them. "Space and time."

"Yikes," Sonic let out. "Hope everyone else is okay."

They went further into the Zone, with Sonic perking as he heard Chris screaming. He ran in the direction of the yells, and froze up as he saw Chris dangling over a pit of spikes, holding both himself and Keith up with one arm.

"Help!" Chris shouted. "Sonic, wherever you are, HEEELLLLLP!"

"Chris!" Sonic yelled. "Keith!"

He rushed over in the blink of an eye, grabbing Chris. Knuckles, Kat, and Sally all ran and helped as well, pulling the boys to safety.

"Whew…" Keith sighed. "Close one."

"You guys okay?" Sonic asked.

Chris nodded. "I'm gonna be feeling that in my arms for a week, but I'll be good."

"Now we're just missing Mina and Shorty," Sally said.

Before long, they heard laser fire, and hurried to the source. Shortfuse stood before Mina in a Badnik Processing Plant, shooting any Swatbot or Trooper that drew near.

"Stay back, you tin cans!" Shortfuse shouted, firing wildly. "You ain't roboticizing this mongoose!"

"Mina! Shorty!"

Sonic rounded the corner at that moment. One Trooper stiffened at the sight of him.

"Alert!" it shouted. "Priority One: Hedgehog!"

The bots all turned toward Sonic en masse, ignoring Mina and Shorty.

"Glad to know you guys care so much, but I'm afraid I'm a little busy at the moment!" Sonic snapped.

As more and more Swatbots and Troopers swarmed on him, Sonic gritted his teeth in anger. Everyone recoiled as his body began sparking with the blue lightning, his eyes changing from green to a glowing blue.

"I don't have time to waste on you stupid mounds of metal!" he shouted. "Get the HELL out of my way!"

There was a sudden pulse of blue energy that ripped through the plant. Everything began to spark and smoke before shutting down altogether. The Swatbots and Troopers exploded before collapsing into heaps on the ground. When the surge faded, even Sonic was surprised by the remaining carnage.

"...Did I do that?"

"What... are you?" Knuckles let out. "How-?".

Suddenly, everything began to shake.

"Oh no!" Tekno shrieked. "The Monarch!"

"No…" Sally let out, "We're too late!"

The group hurried out of the Zone as the Titanic Monarch whirred to life, stomping forward.

"You and your pals must have a death wish, Sonic!" Robotnik gloated. "And I'm willing to grant it! Witness this invincible mech, built by the hands of a genius! Its power... unmatched throughout the universe!"

He let out a mad cackle as everyone just stared in horror.

"We're doomed…" Mina squeaked.

"Not yet," Sonic insisted. "We still have the Emeralds, right?"

"You heard what Metal said, Sonic!" Amy cried. "The Phantom Ruby's even stronger than the Master Emerald! The Chaos Emeralds aren't gonna make any difference!"

"Maybe if I was going it alone," Sonic countered. "But what if another person goes Super with me?"

"What?" Sally asked. "Is that even possible?"

"I'll try," Knuckles decided. "I've got more Chaos energy then most of you. Maybe, just maybe, I can go Super."

"I'll try too," Tails added. "Sonic's my best friend, and I'll gladly fight by his side."

"Alright, let's do this," Sonic declared.

The group set out the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles focused, the Emeralds circling around them rapidly. Like all the times before, Sonic's fur turned gold and his clothes turned white. For Knuckles, his fur became a glowing pink color, his clothes becoming solid white as well. Tails' fur turned a slightly darker golden color to Sonic's, a red cape sprouting out of his back as his regular clothes turned white.

"It worked!" Rotor cheered.

Sonic looked at the two, smiling.

"Alright, team," he bragged. "Let's see how the Titanic Monarch can stand against the unstoppable team of Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Turbo Tails!"

"Oh, yeah!" Tails cheered.

"Ugh…" Knuckles sighed. "I'm already regretting this. I'm not even using a Hyper form, you idiot!"

"I know," Sonic replied. "But just calling us all Super-whatever seemed monotonous."

With that, they flew to face the Monarch.

"Oh, my," Robotnik noted at the sight of them. "Three Super formed Mobians? Well, this is certainly a surprising change of events. But, no matter. It won't be enough! And so your friends don't feel left out…"

A panel in the Monarch opened up, unleashing the Heavy Rider. She landed among the Freedom Fighters, snarling in contempt.

"You... You scrapped my brethren." she growled. "It's payback time!"

She let out a whistle as an abnormally large Motobug rolled in, which the Rider landed on like a bike. "Let's get 'em, Jimmy!"

"Ha!" Sonic taunted. "You think one Heavy is gonna stop them?"

"You know what, Sonic?" Robotnik mused. "You're right."

The Monarch raised a hand, firing a beam in front of the other Freedom Fighters. Red and black pixels swirled around, before forming into what appeared to be the other Hard-Boiled Heavies. Knuckles gave Sonic a dirty look.

"You just had to open your mouth," the echidna snarled.

"Yeah…" Sonic winced. "That one's on me."

"Aw man!" Sticks whined. "He brought back all of them!"

"Come on guys, like with the Silver Sonics," Sally cut in. "We just need to hold out until Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails finish the Monarch!"

"Well, I'm afraid this is your last hurrah, Sonic," Robotnik gloated. "You and your friends will die here, along with your futile crusade against me and my empire!"

The Monarch's eyes began glowing, readying an attack.

"Hey Sonic, does he usually monologue this much?" Tails asked.

"Only when he's overconfident and full of himself," Sonic replied. "So... yeah."

"MOVE!" Knuckles screamed.

They darted out of the way as a massive pink-purple beam fired out of the Monarch's eyes, carving into the ground as it hit and causing pillars of fiery explosions to shoot up.

"How are the two of you not dead yet?!" Knuckles demanded.

"Stubbornness and the will of Aurora," Sonic replied.

"We need to get the Ruby out of the Monarch," Tails insisted. "We do that, we shut it down."

"Good luck with that!" Robotnik declared as a set of missiles protrude from either sides of the Monarch's waist. "Say cheese!"

The missiles launched at the group. Sonic bounced off one of them, while Knuckles grabbed one with his bare hands before redirecting it back to sender. Tails got one to tail him, leading it right back towards the Monarch itself before launching upward as the missile struck the robot in the chest.

"Is that the best you can do?" Robotnik demanded.

"No, but thanks for asking!" Sonic shot back.

He drew back his hand, which glowed before he fired a beam of golden Chaos energy at the Monarch. It raised an arm in defense, but the beam pierced right through it, leaving a perfectly round smoking hole in it. Through the hole, they could see the glowing red and black light of the Phantom Ruby.

"Bingo!" Sonic declared.

The Monarch fired more missiles. Knuckles pounded his fists together, which seemed to be smoldering, before unleashing a flurry of punches that sent out fireballs, detonating the missiles in midair before hitting the Monarch as well.

"Alright!" Knuckles cheered. "Now that's what I call firepower!"

Tails focused his power into his hands, creating balls of electricity before launching them at the Monarch as well, pelting it.

"Keep it up!" Sonic urged. "We're winning!"

"Impossible!" Robotnik shrieked. "You shouldn't be able to inflict this much damage on the Monarch! Not with the Phantom Ruby powering it!"

"You're right Eggman," Sonic admitted. "Maybe not on my own, but I have something you'll never have: Friends. And that's a power you always underestimate."

"That's why you always lose!" Tails declared. "You always automatically assume you'll win, that your plans are foolproof! You never plan ahead, or ever stop to consider the possibility you could ever fail! No matter what you do, no matter what you try, you'll never beat us or conquer Mobius!"

Recalling the Heavy King's almost exact words to him earlier, Robotnik was sent into a murderous fury. He flipped every switch on his console, using up every bit of the Phantom Ruby's energy he could siphon. In doing so, he also dissipated the Heavy clones. Heavy Rider took note of their disappearance, seconds before she was slashed to pieces with Sally's Ring Blades. With nothing else they could do, the Freedom Fighters watched as the Titanic Monarch's eyes glowed like a second sun, preparing its final attack.

"You and that blasted hedgehog have mocked me for the last time, fox boy!" he ranted. "If you have the guts to put it to the test, let's see if your little 'power of friendship' is strong enough to stop THIS!"

"Bring it on!" Sonic shot back. "Ready, guys?"

"You bet!" Tails agreed.

"Let's do this!" Knuckles added.

The trio flew forward while spinning around one another in a clockwise motion before becoming blurs. Just as the Titanic Monarch fired its death ray, Team Sonic shot forward at full speed, shooting slowly through the beam and carving through it before blasting through its face and into the cockpit. Sonic rammed into Robotnik, shattering the suit he was using to control the Monarch and knocking the Phantom Ruby into the sky.

"Yeah!" Sonic cheered.

"Woo hoo!" Tails added.

"We did it!" Knuckles shouted.

The Monarch lost power, weaving from side to side before completely falling over. Robotnik pulled himself up, scowling, when suddenly the Phantom Ruby began to float into the air on its own. A pair of mechanical hands materialized around it, and from those hands formed the body of the Heavy King.

"YOU?!" Robotnik screamed.

"I told you this would happen," the King said matter-of-factly. "I told you that no matter what you did, you would fail."

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles just looked on in surprise as a purple portal opened behind the King.

"You're a failure, Doctor. And you always will be," the King went on. "But with the Phantom Ruby in competent hands like mine, Mobius will have a new ruler. One who knows what he's doing."

He departed into the portal. In a rage, Robotnik grabbed the damaged Egg Mobile, essentially throwing together whatever he needed to get it flying before following him.

"You filthy, backstabbing traitor!" he screamed as he vanished into the portal as well. As they did, Sonic turned to Tails and Knuckles.

"Eggman's still after the Phantom Ruby," he mused. "Better take him and the King out before they rip the world apart."

Tails and Knuckles shared a nod, and together, the three of them shot into the portal.

Egg Reverie Zone

They emerged in a purple-hued void of a barren wasteland. Ahead, Robotnik's makeshift Egg Mobile was grappling with the Heavy King, who had the Phantom Ruby installed on the top of his crown. From the back of the Egg Mobile came an arm that was trying to snatch the Ruby.

"The Phantom Ruby is mine, Heavy King, and mine it'll remain!" Robotnik shouted. "I created you, and I'll be your END!"

"I have risen above you, Doctor!" the King retorted. "I will achieve what you will never accomplish, and I will make you watch every second of it!"

"I don't think so!" Tails declared, getting the two combatants' attention.

"Get ready to have your plans foiled again, Eggman!" Sonic added.

"Gah!" Robotnik gritted his teeth in a rage. "I hate that hedgehog!"

The King shoved him aside.

"You may have bested Robotnik, but I am not a fool like him," he warned. "I will not underestimate you, or your friends!"

"It won't stop you from getting every square inch of your metal ass kicked!" Knuckles shot back.

The King rolled his eyes. "So uncivilized."

He focused as Knuckles charged, and the echidna was repelled by a field of energy spheres that appeared around the King, orbiting around him like a protective barrier.

"You can't hit what you can't touch," the King gloated.

He started firing the balls at the trio, forcing them on the defensive. As they went, Sonic focused on his power, blue lightning sparking as he channeled it into his body. The minute he saw an opening, Sonic darted forward as a light-immersed projectile, ramming into the King and knocking him back. The King let out a grunt as he slid back.

"This is a new power," he noted. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Sonic?"

"Better than being a one-trick pony like you Badniks!" Sonic retorted.

"Perhaps before," the King admitted. "But that was before I got this!"

The Phantom Ruby began to glow as the King fired a narrow beam from it, slamming into Sonic and knocking him back. He winced, clutching his shoulder.

"I actually felt that one," he mused.

Tails quickly helped him up.

"Of course you did," Knuckles recalled. "Chaos energy and Phantom energy are polar opposites. When they clash, it's volatile and painful."

Tails threw more electrical balls at the King, with Knuckles punching fireballs as well, but the King calmly deflected them as well.

"You can't win this, Sonic!" the King declared. "The Phantom Ruby is the supreme power!"

Sonic charged again, only to get a fist in the face that sent him flying into the ground. The King loomed over him, a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

"And once I'm finished killing you, the fox, and the echidna, I'm going to kill your friends in the Freedom Fighters as well, and then everyone you know and love in Mobotropolis and Station Square," he went on in a chilling voice. "I'll come methodically after every last one of them, and watch their faces twist in fear and despair once they realize the great hero Sonic isn't there to protect them anymore."

Sonic's eyes went wide, and that was when his super form began to shift. The golden light began to mix with blue, sparks dancing across Sonic's entire body.

"TIME TO DIE!" The King shouted.

He threw a punch to strike the final blow, only to be stopped in his tracks by Sonic's and blue light was swirling around him, his eyes were sparking with power, and lightning was dancing across individual quills.

"Tails…" Knuckles began uncertainly, "we might want to get back."

"WHAT?!" the King shrieked. "How can you-?!"

Sonic swung the King into the ground before he could finish his sentence, slowly advancing on him before grabbing his arms with both hands.

"When you look back on this, in the five seconds it'll take me to dismantle you…" Sonic began, his voice deadly calm, "I think you'll find the mistake you made was threatening my friends and family."

Knuckles and Tails took cover as all of Sonic's energy surged into Heavy King. Every circuit, wire, screw, and light was flooded with more power than the Heavy could even begin to take. The King screamed in utter agony as his entire form began to glow. Finally, Sonic leaned forward, looking the King right in the eyes.

"BOOM." he said coldly.

With that, one last energy surge shot through the Heavy King, and he exploded into a thousand pieces. The resulting energy wave ripped through everything. Knuckles, Tails, Robotnik, and Sonic are all thrown out of the Zone, reality warping around them and spitting them back out.

Never Lake

Back with the Freedom Fighters, who had managed to escape the Little Planet after the Monarch went down, the sky suddenly exploded into a massive wave of red and electric blue. The power wave washed over everything, as if some massive force of nature had suddenly erupted. The sky tore open and the Super Trio and Robotnik were all spat out onto the ground. The three were back to normal, completely dazed, and utterly exhausted. As one last testament to this power, Little Planet shimmered, becoming green and beautiful once more before blinking out of existence.

"Whoa…" Sally let out, pulling out Nicole's console. "Nicole, what was that?"

"I'm not sure, Sally. Nothing like this has ever been recorded."

As Sally and Kat ran to Sonic and Knuckles, respectively, Robotnik got to his feet, dusting himself off.

"Perhaps in the future, I should stick to the Chaos Emeralds," he pondered before beginning to walk off. Still tired, Sonic managed to raise his head just enough to watch him go"

"That's it?" he asked. "No freak out? No temper tantrum?"

Robotnik simply shrugged. "Those are the breaks. Once again, you win, I lose. There's always next time." He looked over his shoulder. "Besides, I'm actually starting to enjoy our little fights. After all, if you look at history, the great men and women of the world have always been defined by their enemies."

He called the Egg Mobile, boarding. "See you next scheme, I suppose."

And with that, the doctor was gone.

"Rotor, get the Special," Sally ordered. "Porker, Johnny, prepare the medical bay. Chris, Keith, get Tails."

Keith and Chris carefully gathered up a zonked out Tails as Kat gently scooped up Knuckles. Sally picked up Sonic as well, who was feeling the pull of sleep.

"Yeah…" he yawned. "I don't know about you, but I need a nap."

"I can get behind that," Knuckles agreed.

With that, the two passed out as Rotor called in the Freedom Fighter Special. The group carried them onto the plane, which took off into the night.

Author's Note:

Yep, that was my plan all along. The Titanic Monarch had so much more potential than just being used as the backdrop for a final level, so I decided to fix that.

Thus concludes the Phantom Ruby arc. Tune in next time for the aftermath.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Tekno - Leah Clark (Mavis Vermillion from Fairy Tail, Ruby Tojo from Rosario + Vampire, Nodoka Miyazaki from Mahou Sensei Negima)

* Heavy Rider - Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ash from Sing)

Please R&R. Until next time!