Adventures of the Orange Flash
Chapter 14: An Orbital Pursuit and Final Sprint
Within the exosphere of the planet earth, a spacecraft is currently in orbit for an unknown purpose. It is a massive spherical space station with concave eye-sockets and a mustache rendered in kilometers of vacuum-hardened plasma-steel, such in the likeness of Doctor Eggman. It was within this orbital fortress that a portal materialized and several figures emerged from it revealing to be Naruto and the others who had been pursuing the doctor all the way into space.
''So this is his little hideaway huh?" said Naruto as he looked around, though he had to admit that this is the very first time he's been to outer space, Kurama himself was just as interested.
"Some things never change around here with Eggman, we'll pound this place back to the ground after dealing with him," said Knuckles.
"But first we'll have to find him first," said Mina.
Naruto nodded in affirmation "And as always, we'll need to split up and look around. The pairs are Knuckles, Cream and Mina, while Tails and I will go together. No doubt that Eggman is aware of our coming and had prepared his forces to attack so be careful,"
[A plausible tactic, may I suggest locating the control room first so that I may manipulate the surveillance system which we could use to locate the doctor as well as Cream's mother] an AI program by the name Nicole spoke up from Naruto's ECG (Energy Convert Gloves)
"That's a great idea, Nicole! We'll definitely find Eggman that way," said Tails.
"Now that we all know where to go, let's hit the road!" Naruto turned around and took off with Kou and Yoru hanging on to his jacket.
"Hey Naruto, wait for me!" Tails spun his twin tails rapidly to propel himself forward after his fellow fox while the others went in a different direction.
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Egg Utopia Act 1
Naruto and Tails ran along the pathway which when downhill and led through a hallway to the end where a grind rail was waiting for them to ride along while exposed to the exterior of outer space much to Naruto's surprise but snapped back into focus as a single misstep spells doom for him and his companion. Grinding down the sloped rail sent the duo back into the interior of the space station as they ran up a hill and jumped over a row of spikes to bounce off a spring at the other side close to wall to ascend to an upper level where a Buzzer badnik aimed at them and fired an energy bullet. Tails quickly grabbed onto Naruto's hand and lifted him higher with his tails spinning rapidly like a rotor. Naruto channeled chakra into a glove to form a handful of shuriken which he threw at the badnik to destroy it.
Dropping back to the ground, the duo ran downhill while gaining speed then dropped to a lower hill where they launched themselves off a dash ramp to catch some air and land on a platform which was jumped from across a gap in between to land on another platform, there they boosted off a dash panel straight into some sort of cannon which they used their spin dash to gain entry, the muzzle aimed upwards and shoot them towards an upper platform where they smashed into several badniks resembling bats which flew by rotating their wings that jut from their sides like a propeller then they dropped down to a pathway to boost off a dash panel to run up a ramped wall to get high into the air and land on top of a platform. Naruto and Tails ran along it to find themselves getting into yet another cannon which aimed straight ahead and shot them there to a pathway where they jumped down to land on top of a circular platform which suddenly slid down a slope to the outer section of the space station and flew off a ramp into the air.
Naruto quickly looked around until he saw a grind rail above them "Tails, jump up to the rail now!"
"Okay!" Tails replied.
Both foxes leapt towards the grind rail overhead and rode along as it sloped downwards before they flipped off from it to land safely back into the interior of the fortress where they landed on top of a miniature launchpad which rocketed forwards to fling them across the path but they landed properly and continued with their run. Naruto and Tails was running along the route and passed by a large red computer panel with a footing marked with a triangle in front of it and the computer screen is black while displaying a green arrow pointing, suddenly they were lifted off from the ground towards the ceiling where they landed feet first much to Naruto as he's not using chakra to latch on.
"What's going on?" asked Naruto confusedly.
"We must have activated a gravity control switch," said Tails.
"Gravity control switch?"
Nicole began to explain [It is a device that changes the flow of gravity which is the reason why you're both able to remain on the ceiling without falling to the ground]
"Wow, thanks for the info Nicole-chan," said Naruto with a smile.
Nicole felt strange again when he smiled at her but responded anyways [I'm glad to offer assistance to you] these sensations continue to occur whenever she interacts with Naruto but just couldn't deduce why.
Naruto and Tails dropped upwards and narrowly avoiding a row of spikes upon landing before jumping to grab onto a vertical pole and revolved around it while ascending then running along the ceiling past a gravity control switch to have their flow of gravity redirected and land back on the ground as they dashed downhill where they grinded along a rail at the edge to somersault at the end and land onto an upper platform. The duo ran to the end where they bounced off a spring to go through an upward guiding loop straight along a slope into a downhill loop before a downward guiding loop to land on a grind rail before jumping off to land on the pathway where they bounced off a diagonal spring to ascend to the upper level.
Upon landing, the foxes boosted off a dash panel to run up a ramped wall and bounce upwards from a diagonal spring through a chain of springs after the first to the next platform with a grind rail at the end which they rode along in the fortress's exterior before arriving on a platform where they boosted from a dash panel to zip through a shuttle loop and up a ramped wall to land on the upper level as they dropped down a gap to get on yet another circular which started sliding downhill and launched off a dash ramp to fly across a bottomless gap.
The duo leapt off the platform to land safely back in the fortress's interior where they ran past a gravity control switch to be sent up to the ceiling where they ran along a upward slope to the end of a wall to find another gravity control switch to get back to the ground, there they used a spring to propel themselves forward to hit another spring and be redirected down another sloped pathway and straight ahead to run up a tall ramped way all the way to the ceiling but jumped down to a platform below where they boosted off a dash panel through a shuttle loop to bounce off a spring with a gravity control switch sending them up to the ceiling for a launchpad to fling them along for their flow of gravity to be reverted by another gravity control switch as they landed back on the ground.
"I think we're getting somewhere close to the surveillance room!" said Tails.
"I hope you're right Tails!" Naruto responded as they ran along the pathway at high-speed before diving into a cannon with the muzzle aiming upwards before launching them across a big gap outside the fortress to land on a platform where they ran through a shuttle loop before launching off a dash ramp towards a row of vertical bars which they used to get across back into the fortress. They ran along the pathway and boosted off a dash panel as they went through a shuttle loop and up a tall ramped wall before dropping down a gap onto yet another circular platform as it slid down the slope and launched off a dash ramp as they jumped off and were running through the deeper sections of Egg Utopia.
Music End
Naruto and Tails were running through the hallways when they skidded to a stop before a metal door with a control panel next to it. Suspecting it to be their marked destination, Naruto approached the control panel while wondering how to open the door when Nicole spoke up.
[Place your hand on the panel, I'll begin the hacking] said the female AI.
"Okay, Nicole-chan. Go for it," Naruto placed a hand on the panel and watched as a holographic screen appeared from the blue crystal and streams of data starting rolling by until a beep was heard from the panel and the metal doors slid apart to reveal entry.
[Bypass complete]
"Thanks for the help," said Tails.
They went inside to find themselves in a room full of monitors attached to the walls with an interface in front of them. In one of the screens they saw Knuckles, Cream and Mina running along a pathway while taking down some badniks on the way. Tails started tapping on the panel while Naruto placed a hand on it too for Nicole to join in the hacking of the system with him looking on.
"There, we found Eggman!" Tails pushed a button to change the channel on the monitors to display Eggman flying in his Egg mobile in an unknown section of the space station.
"That's good, but any sign of Cream-chan's mother?" asked Naruto.
[All cameras have been scanned but none provided information of her whereabouts in the fortress] said Nicole.
"Maybe Eggman is keeping her somewhere close to him," said Tails.
"Well let's go look for him then," said Naruto.
[I've pinpointed the doctor's current location, I can lead you to him] said Nicole with the holographic screen displaying a map of Egg Utopia with a blinking red dot showing where Eggman is.
"Okay Nicole-chan, show us the way," Naruto and Tails ran out of the surveillance room and in direction of the doctor's currently location.
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Egg Utopia Act 2
The duo were running down the hill and picking up speed, there they jumped towards a descending handrail and grabbed on to it, sliding down to the other end and land on the ground where they passed by a gravity control switch to run on the ceiling where they stepped on a Launchpad which flung them to the outskirts of the fortress as they grinded along an upward rail to the other side where they were bounced down from a spring and passed through a dash ring to land back on the ground below. The foxes ran to the end of the platform to ride along a grind rail and somersaulted at the end to land on another platform where they jumped into a cannon, the muzzle aimed upwards and launched them into the air where a gravity control switch had them landing on the ceiling.
Naruto and Tails ran along the ceiling and through a shuttle loop where they boosted off a dash panel to run down the wall to the ground before dropping back to the ceiling and bounced down from a spring to descend towards the lower level, there they stepped on another Launchpad to be flung over a gap and dashed up a slope towards a spring to descend another level before hopping into a cannon which as always launched them upwards to the ceiling for a gravity control switch to send them back to the ground. The duo ran out to the outskirts once more and grinded along a sloped rail to jump onto a platform where they boosted off a dash panel to grind up a slanted rail to the next pathway as they dashed at high-speed then launching off a dash ramp to land on a grind rail above, leading them back into the fortress's interior to bounce off a spring and have their flow of gravity redirected to the ceiling again for a short distance before dropping back to the ground.
The foxes ran forward and leapt at a vertical pole which they used to spiral down to the lower level and dropped onto a dash panel to run up a ramped wall where several Buzzer badniks laid in wait before opening fire on them. Naruto dashed to the side to evade the shots while channeling chakra into his gloves to form a rope which he twirled around before shooting it forward to pierce through two of the airborne badnik, Yoru lunged at a badnik with its teeth bared and chomped it repeatedly into little pieces while Kou emitted a white aura from its body and charged forward to smash through several. Tails himself was using his tail ends to slice several badniks apart till all enemies were destroyed.
[You're getting close, the doctor's not too far from here] said Nicole.
"Got it, let's pick up the pace guys! We're almost there!" said Naruto.
"Okay Naruto," Tails responded.
They stepped on a dash panel for a rapid acceleration as the duo ran through a shuttle loop to running down the ledge to bounce off a diagonal spring from a platform below to ascend towards to the upper level which the route took them to the outskirts again where a Launchpad flung them across the gap towards a wall ahead to bounce along a series of springs and ascend to the top, back into the fortress. They ran to the edge of the platform to slid down another handrail to the other side to boost off from a dash panel straight up a ramped wall through an upward loop and launched off a dash ramp to grab onto a gymnastic bar where he spun around a few times before swinging off to land on the ground and resumed the run with Tails flying next to him.
The duo ran by a gravity control switch to take to the ceiling where they grinded along an ascending rail and boosted off a dash panel through a downward loop to the ground straight into a cannon which had the muzzle aiming downward this time before firing them to the ground which they landed with a roll then speeding through a pair of uphill loops then stepping on a Launchpad to be thrown over a bottomless to land on the other side safely and finding themselves running through a very large hallway.
Music End
[This is where Dr. Eggman was last sighted] said Nicole.
"Okay, but where is he?" asked Tails looking around confusedly.
"Just keep your eyes and ears out, he might show up from anywhere," Naruto listened for any unfamiliar sounds for a few moments and sure enough he heard sounds of an engine heading their ways "And here he comes, behind us,"
No sooner he said that did a vehicle pass by them and they could see it more clearly from up close, this vehicle bears a resemblance to a two-legged spider with its two long legs which has a pair of wheels attached to the ends as they hold up the cockpit where there are two large holes on and below it.
In the cockpit, Eggman was sneering at the fox duo as they ran after him in his latest invention "I shouldn't be too surprise that you chased me all the way up here. But now you're playing in my turf where my victory is guaranteed, with my newly invented Egg Frog. Prepare to meet your demise!"
Naruto and Tails along with the Chao tilted their heads in confusion at the doctor's introduction of his new weapon as something doesn't seem to be making sense.
"Egg Frog? But it resembles more of a spider than a frog, like the one Sonic destroyed some time ago," said Tails.
"It's not a spider, it's a frog!" said Eggman angrily.
Naruto shook his head in disagreement "Nope, it definitely looks more like a spider from our point of view,"
[According to my visual scans, the likeness is that of a spider] said Nicole, getting a sense of satisfaction from the statement towards the doctor.
"I guess his evilness has affected his ability to tell between an amphibian and an arachnid," said Kurama musingly.
Eggman gritted his teeth in anger at their statements "To have the nerve of criticizing my invention, you'll pay for that!"
Naruto smirked in anticipation as the crystals on his gloves glowed with energy "Looks like it's game on! Let's go Tails!"
"Roger that!" said Tails in affirmation.
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Boss 7
As they ran after the doctor, Nicole suddenly spoke up to them.
[Please be alert that there is a continuous shift in the area, a high enough jump will shift your flow of gravity to the ceiling]
No sooner did she say those words when the Egg Frog brought the wheeled legs close together before springing up to the ceiling while dropping a missile to the ground and remained up there, the missile landed on the ground to explode into a long trail of fire which headed towards the duo.
"Guess that's why he called it the Egg Frog…even though it looks like a spider," said Kurama.
Tails quickly took to the air and held his hands out to Naruto "Quick, grab on Naruto!" the fox immediately complied and jumped to grab onto Tails' hands as he was lifted above the fiery trail to successfully evade being burnt.
"Thanks for the save!" said Naruto.
"No problem!" Tails replied.
"Get me to the ceiling and I'll attack Eggman from there!"
Tails flew higher and threw Naruto to the ceiling for the gravity shift to take effect before rushing towards the mech as he stretched out a hand to form a Rasengan to attack, Eggman saw him coming and jumped down to ground whilst dropping to launch a fire trail to attack the fox. Naruto quickly threw a Hirashin kunai to the ground and flash towards it to evade, however he noticed that Eggman wasn't ahead of him which means…
"Naruto, look out behind you!" Tails called out in alert.
Naruto looked behind to see the Egg Frog charging towards him and was too late to dodge the charge as he got hit and was sent tumbling across the ground much to Tails worry and Eggman's satisfaction.
"Gotcha…huh?!" Eggman's smirk disappeared when he saw the fox explode in a puff of smoke which dissipated to reveal a wooden log along with two sticks rolling along the ground "What the…where did he go?!"
"Look up here!" he did just that to see Naruto diving towards him with a blue spiraling sphere of energy "Rasengan!" he rammed the jutsu to inflict great damage to the Egg Frog before flipping back on the ground.
"Was that the body replacement jutsu you told me about?" asked Tails.
"Yup, with it I can switch places with a wooden log or other things. Which is perfect for attacking enemies when their guard is down like with ole egghead over there," said Naruto.
[Amazing, simply a versatile technique] said Nicole in wonder.
"Grrrrr, why you little!" Eggman operated the Egg Frog to stand sideways with one wheel attached to the ceiling with the other remaining on the ground with the bottom muzzle aiming at the duo before proceeding to fire missiles at them repeatedly.
"Oh boy, take cover!" Naruto shouted out, they jumped from side to side and at times jumped to the ceiling in order to evade the incoming missiles and fire trails but Eggman was rather persistent in blowing them to bits "Okay that's enough out of you! Swift Release: Shadow Rush!" Naruto dashed towards the leg on the ground and unleashed a full body tackle at high-speed, causing the Egg Frog to stumble and land back on the ground "Go for it, Tails!"
"Okay!" Tails curled up and started spinning rapidly before shooting forward to slam into the cockpit for some damage then skidding backwards along with Naruto to build some distance between them and the mech to avoid any counterattacks.
"I'm not through yet, take this!" Eggman jumped to the ceiling once more and this time fired two missiles to create a larger blaze that Tails would not be able to carry Naruto out in time as said fox grabbed onto him and flung him into the air.
"Naruto get out of there!" Tails cried out to him.
As he gazed into the incoming, Naruto felt his body heating up and thought that he had been hit by the flames…but they weren't close to him just yet and when they did, he didn't feel himself burning up at all. From Tails' point of view, he saw his friend being consumed by the flames and was dismayed. But then he noticed a cerulean flame amongst the red ones and was moving till it emerged to reveal Naruto shrouded in it and was looking surprised himself.
"Naruto, you're okay! And what is that fire?" asked a happy and confused Tails.
"I don't know Tails, it appeared on me just like that and my chakra wasn't used for it," said Naruto "Do you have any idea Kurama?"
"None at all, but what I do know is that you must have instinctively called upon it," said Kurama
"I see, but it's still active…I'll use it to my advantage!" Naruto curled up into a ball and started spinning rapidly before shooting off towards the Egg Frog whilst leaving behind a trail of cerulean flames. Eggman saw the Naruto's sudden emission of power and hastily positioned his mech sideways to fire his missiles again but Naruto closed the gap very quickly and lunged at him "Kitsune Fire wheel!" he slammed into the mech, causing the azure to leave his body and envelop it before exploding with Eggman having ejected the Egg Mobile in time.
Music End
"It appears that you have some tricks hidden up your sleeves but so do I, pursue me if you dare!" Eggman turned his craft around and flew off quickly.
"Get back here Eggman, no more running this time!" Naruto made to pursue when he heard his name being called out.
"Naruto!"
He turned around to see Mina and the others running up to him and Tails before he called back at them "Guys come on this way! We need to go after Eggman!" he took off with the rest following him close behind. They ran through the hallway all the way to the end where they saw an extremely long bridge leading all the way to a colossal satellite ahead and saw Eggman flying ahead of them.
"There he goes, let's-" Knuckles was cut off when the whole place shook violently, causing them to stumble around as the lights changed to red and an alarm was blaring loudly "What's going on?!"
[The space station is undergoing a total system failure and is about to crash down to the earth!] said Nicole.
Naruto took out the scroll and unsealed Tails' device which he passed over to the young fox much to their confusion "You guys should get out of here while I go after Eggman!"
Everyone looked at him in shock and Knuckles spoke up "That's crazy, you can't expect us to just leave you behind like that!"
"He's right, we should go with you!" said Mina.
"I know but right now we're pressed against time here and with me being the fastest, I would be able to defeat Eggman and rescue Cream-chan's mother before the space station collapses completely," said Naruto.
Cream looked at Naruto worriedly "But Naruto…" said fox went down on one knee and placed a hand on top of her head with a warm smile.
"I made a promise that I'll rescue your mother, and I'll definitely fulfill it. Which is why I want you to hold onto this…it will help me save your mom," Naruto reached into his ninja pouch and took out a Hirashin kunai which he handed out to the young rabbit "Keep a good grip on it okay?"
Cream nodded obediently "I will!"
Then he picked up the Chao sitting on his shoulders and passed them over to Cream and spoke to them "I'll need you two to stay with Cream-chan for a few minutes...don't look sad, I'll be sure to return," Kou and Yoru weren't happy but complied nonetheless.
Knuckles let out a sigh "…Okay Naruto, but you better come back in one piece,"
"I second that, it's fun hanging out with you," said Mina with a small smile.
Naruto nodded in affirmation "Sure thing, now get out of here quickly! We're running low on time!"
Tails nodded then he started operating the device as it opened up a portal as they started with pieces of the space station falling around them "Do your best, Naruto!"
Naruto watched them leave before turning towards the long bridge "Oh I intend to," with the open scroll he channeled chakra onto the next seal to bring out a much larger scroll, then Naruto unfurled it to reveal a complicated seal matrix which he activated to summon a shadow clone which he had stationed back at Angel Island sitting in a meditative state as both are engulfed in a puff of smoke before fading to reveal him with orange pigmentation around the eyes which show yellow toad-like irises and he was wearing his short sleeved red coat with a black flame pattern around the hem as he dashed out to the bridge. There he saw Eggman riding in another one of his EggHammerTank mark 2.
"So you finally arrived and dressed for the occasion," Eggman sneered at the fox.
"Save the banter for someone who cares, where is Cream-chan's mom?" Naruto frowned at the doctor.
"Maybe if you defeat me, I might tell you. Let's see you destroy the improved versions," Eggman drove off at much higher speeds than the first time Naruto engaged him as the fox pursued him.
"Remember Naruto, you only have five minutes before the Sage mode wears off," said Kurama.
"I know Kurama, so I'll make each second count," Naruto responded.
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Final Zone- XX
Naruto was running the vehicle and closing the gap in between them, Eggman activated the giant metal hand to lash out and grab the fox along with swinging the hammer from overhead. Naruto saw the incoming attacks and leapt into the air to place his hand over the metal hand to vault then followed up with a double kick to actually knock away the hammer much to the doctor's shock but he wasn't perturbed as he operated the weapons to attack once more with the metal hand performing a haymaker punch at his intended target with the hammer following up.
Not backing down, Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist before swinging it a few meters away from the incoming fist but there was a powerful impact that knocked it back to slam into the vehicle then grabbing the hammer while anchoring himself to the ground before wrenching the weapon from its joint and throwing it away. He forms a Rasengan and charged forward with the metal hand moving in to intercept as he thrusts out with the technique "Sage Art: Rasengan!" as the spiraling sphere made contact, it began to grind through the metal fist into many pieces and continued slam into the cockpit for Eggman to eject the Egg mobile before it was completely destroyed.
"Not bad, but there's more where that came from!" said Eggman, then the Egg Bomber Tank passed by for him to dock in "Let's resume shall we?"
"I believe it's safe to say that he intends to use copies of the machines he used against us back in the other zones," thought Naruto.
"No matter, they'll all share the same fate like the others," said Kurama.
Eggman aimed the cannon and started firing black cannonball at a much faster rate unlike the original, Naruto took out several regular kunai wrapped in explosive tags in one hand and channeled chakra into the glove to form a handful of shuriken which he started to throw at the cannonballs to detonate them early before they fell anywhere close to him. While he threw the shuriken, Naruto was watch for the time interval of when the cannonballs are fired and found it as he quickly threw the kunai straight into the muzzle of the cannon and a few seconds later, the cannon exploded to expose the interior. Eggman continued to launch cannonballs at Naruto despite the lack of a cannon like before.
Naruto formed a spear construct through the ECG then quickly wrapped several explosive tags on it whilst darting left and right to evade the incoming explosions before he dashed forward about halfway before leaping high into the air, he reared the loaded spear back "Take this!" then he hurled it towards the gap with the Egg Bomber Tank going up in a large explosion, forcing Eggman to eject again.
"Hmph, obviously it needs more work, how about this one?" said Eggman as the Egg Totem rolled by for him to get on board.
The Egg Totem proceeded to launch two of the totem like disks which began to spin rapidly before flying towards him with the cannons protruding and firing red projectiles from different directions "Swift Release: Shadow Dance!" Naruto darted in and out rapidly and lightly around the projectiles while leaving behind a trail of afterimages before jumping towards one of the spinning discs with a fist reared back before smashing the cannon into pieces, he spun around to throw a wind enhanced kunai to slice through the cannon on the other spinning disc. Naruto quickly jumped into the air to evade a third spinning disc coming at him from behind "Swift release: Shadow Flight!" he dashed in midair with afterimages trialing behind him as he stretched his hands and a blue spiraling sphere of chakra formed in each of them "Rasengan Barrage!" he rammed it into the Egg Totem as the vehicle buckled under the force of the attack and was destroyed.
Next up was the Aero Egg as Eggman was operating aircraft but this time there was a gun turret attached to the hanging plate behind it, the turret took aim at Naruto and unleashed a rapid fire of orange energy bullets while the main body proceeded to drop grey missiles towards the ground below. Naruto took out a kunai and enhanced it with chakra before rapidly deflecting the incoming shots whilst evading the debris from the explosions.
Naruto took out a shuriken and threw it at the gun turret before performing set of handsigns while calling out "Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu!" he watched as it multiplied into a thousand copies of the original before cutting through the target multiple times, destroying it with only the missiles left to deal with "Shadow Clone jutsu!" Naruto formed a group of clones with the first grabbing the original and throwing him high into the air thanks to the Senjutsu enhancement with the others quickly following after him. two clones appeared at either side and transformed into foldable windmill shurikens which he grabbed and twirled rapidly "Double Demon Wind Bomb!" then he threw them towards the Aero Egg, the shuriken reverted to the clones as they channeled chakra to the gloves and fired a grapple hook at the original then pulled him in like a catapult. Naruto stuck his feet before him as he slammed into the Aero Egg, driving it into the ground with critical damage.
"That's four for me and none for you Eggman!" said Naruto.
[Naruto, my scanners detect only half of the foreign energy in your body] said Nicole well aware of the remaining mechs left in Eggman's repertoire but can't help but feel…concern for the fox?
"Not to worry, Nicole-chan. I'll finish things before the sage mode runs out," said Naruto, he turned his attention back to Eggman who was onboard the Egg Saucer.
Naruto raced forwards with the target being the laser cannon, he darted to the side in order to evade the giant hand that tried to grab him then quickly leapt into the air right before the cannon had taken aim and fired a beam at him. Naruto created a shadow clone to appear behind him while he curled up and started spinning rapidly then the clone twirled once with a roundhouse kick to launch Naruto at the cannon, successfully destroying it. Naruto turned around to see the metal hand throwing a punch at him and he clenched his fist as well, charging it with natural energy before performing a straight punch. Both fists clashed with the metallic one shattering from the powerful impact.
Seeing as there are no more weapons left on the Egg saucer, Eggman was forced to abandon the vehicle in his Egg mobile as he glared at the fox currently giving chase "Just where did he get such power? Could he be using a Chaos Emerald to strengthen himself? No matter, he's bound to wear himself out in the end," he pushed a button to summon his next vehicle which was the Egg-Go-Round when they reached the section where the railing is available.
No sooner did Naruto see the vehicle that he put on a burst of speed to pass by it and pull far ahead of the doctor, then he performed a Senjutsu enhanced jump to take to the air. He created a shadow clone and both worked together on forming a larger than usual Rasengan as they dived towards the rails "Sage Art: Giant Rasengan!" spiraling sphere grind right through the rail and Eggman was helpless to do anything as the Egg-Go-Round derailed and crashed to the ground with him having to eject yet again.
[That was rather brief] said Nicole.
"True but it was so obvious that I'm surprised that I didn't do it the first time," Naruto responded. He ran into a hallway where sure enough the Egg Frog showed up for Eggman to get inside "Here we go again,"
The Egg Frog leapt to the ceiling and began dropping bombs below to unleash the trailing fire, but this time the azure flames appeared once again and shrouded Naruto's body which encouraged him to run through the flames without worry of burning. He leapt up to the ceiling and charged at the vehicle at high-speed "Swift Release: Shadow Rush!" Naruto closed in on the cockpit and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks both in speed and power thanks courtesy of Senjutsu.
Naruto lashed with an uppercut to drive the Egg Frog back to the ground and then he formed a squad of shadow clones before diving towards it altogether while each prepare a Rasengan of their own "Rasengan Super Barrage!" they then bombarded the machine into oblivion not after Eggman disboarding in time. Naruto emerged from the wreckage with his sage coat gone and his eyes reverted to normal as he panted from a slight fatigue.
Music End
[All traces of foreign energy are depleted, will you be okay Naruto?] asked Nicole not at confused with these sensations of her for now.
"…I'll be just fine, once all this is over," said Naruto.
"Looks like you've hit your limit," said Eggman with a smirk.
"Not yet I haven't, still got lots left in the tank!" said Naruto defiantly.
"Then it's a good thing that I saved one of the best for last!"
Eggman flew off with Naruto running after him, the chase took the fox all the way to the edge of the space station where Naruto found himself standing in some sort of arena with large orange rectangular markings all over the place, and he also took note of the ceilings being full of spikes making him feeling cautious around it.
"Now where did Eggman go? He couldn't have gone far," said Naruto as he looked around for the doctor, suddenly he felt the floor quake then he noticed a shadow fall over him and turned to see something rise from the edge of the arena…something big that is causing him to look up. It was a giant robot baring some resemblance to doctor Eggman with a color scheme that is mostly gray and orange with black and yellow stripes, and it has a single red stripe on the back of its head "Whoa,"
Then Naruto heard Eggman's voice from inside the mech "Impressive isn't it? Allow me to introduce…the Super Eggrobo Z! One of my greatest creations yet and a symbol of your defeat!"
Naruto simply scoffed at his proclamation "You're assuming you've already won when we haven't even started the fight. Let's set the ball rolling already and get down to business!"
"Something we can agree on,"
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Final Boss
Naruto was about to take a step forward when the floor below him jolt for a moment before quickly rising towards the ceiling but he jumped off before he ended up getting skewered and turned to see that it was a pillar platform with the top having large orange rectangular markings like the others and so figured what to watch out for.
[Scanning complete, the torso and legs are built to withstand strong attacks. However the head doesn't possess such defense] said Nicole.
"Thanks Nicole-chan, anything else I should watch for?" asked Naruto as he maintained his focus and watched his step to avoid being in lifted towards the spiked ceiling by one of the elevating pillar platforms.
[Be alert of the arms which are capable of detaching from the main body for a ranged attack, and the eyes are capable of firing laser beams as well]
"Noted, now to figure how to attack…," Naruto looked around for a bit before getting an idea, he saw one of the platforms jolt and jumped onto it as rose to the ceiling then he performed the Kitsune Spiral Dash while spinning in place before launched off to ram into the mech's head and bounced back. Naruto was backing up when he saw one of the robot's arms shoot towards him but quickly used the Shadow Step to evade before reappearing with a Rasengan in hand and struck to deal a lot of damage as it returned to the body. He leapt onto another platform and got ready to repeat the pattern, however Naruto noticed the eyes glowing and immediately jumped of right at the mech fired a white energy beam from its optics.
"Whoa, that was close. Good thing Nicole-chan warned me about it earlier," said Naruto.
[I-it is no problem at a-all] said Nicole, feeling a bit timid.
Naruto caught sight of another robot moving towards him and quickly moved behind an elevated platform for it to shield him from the incoming, forcing the arm to return to its main body "Shadow Clone jutsu!" a clone appeared next to him and rushed at the mech before turning around and linking his hands together and beckoned for him to step on, Naruto complied and was launched into the air towards the mech's head as he primed up a Rasengan and struck at the head for some damage
[Naruto, Eggman is about to fire an optic beam!] Nicole called out in warning.
Naruto immediately dissipated the technique and flipped backwards, during the descent one of the robot arms shot towards him in midair, he quickly created a shadow clone who grabbed to spin him around to evade the charged and then retaliating with a Rasengan to destroy it this time. Naruto landed on top of a rising platform and performed the Kitsune Spiral Dash to launch at the mech's head again to attack before landing back on the ground.
"Just one more strong enough hit will do the trick," Naruto readied a Rasengan but this time one would notice that white miniature blades of energy swirling around the blue spiraling sphere. He waited for Eggman to launch the remaining robot arm towards him. once the doctor did just that, Naruto darted to the side and threw the Hirashin kunai as it flew until reaching the point that it was right over the mech's head there he warped over to it in a yellow flash as he called out "Flying Raijin: Level 2 plus Wind Style: Rasengan!" the combination attack inflicted sufficient damage as the giant mech began to explode.
Music End
Naruto watched as the machine explode when suddenly the torso region burst open and some something emerged from it. It was a mech that has the appearance of a crooked-gun which is mostly colored orange with some black and yellow stripes, Naruto saw the Egg mobile being docked on top of the mech's cockpit.
"You lost Eggman, now where is Cream-chan's mom for the last time?" asked Naruto with a frown.
Eggman responded with a smirk "Oh by any chance, are you asking about this one?" then a beam of light shot out to display a hologram. Naruto instantly realized who it was as it is a female anthropomorphic lop-eared rabbit who wears a long light pink dress with a white and a fitted burgundy vest, an orange ascot, white gloves, and low-heeled burgundy shoes.
"That must be Cream-chan's mom, must be where she got her looks from," Naruto then glared at the doctor "You better let her go if you know what's good for you!"
"Why don't come after me and try…If you can that is!" Eggman pushed a button on the console and explosions erupted throughout the space station as he flew away with Naruto looking around confusedly.
[He's attempting to destroy the space station along with you in it!] said Nicole worriedly.
"That's what he thinks! Let's go Kurama!" Naruto declared.
"It's about time, I've been raring to go!" said Kurama with gusto.
Naruto closed his eyes in concentration as he fused his chakra with Kurama's and the golden chakra burst out before enveloping his body and emanating like that of flickering flames, starting with the two front spikes of his hair pointing upwards to resemble horns, the whisker-like markings on his face become thicker, and the chakra shroud's shape alters to resemble a full-length haori with six black magatama markings around the collar with his nine tails sticking out from underneath, and various other archaic lines extending along his body.
[Simply astounding, I've never seen such power before. Just what are you Naruto?] asked Nicole in wonder.
"Let's go get him," Naruto took to the air and flew after the doctor with the space station exploding behind him. Soon enough he caught up with the mech "No more running Eggman!"
The doctor was shocked upon seeing the fox's new appearance and the scanners on his system are reading large amounts of energy "How can this be? Where did you get the Chaos Emeralds?"
"I'm not using the Chaos Emeralds, this a power granted to me by my partner and I'm gonna use to beat you into submission!" said Naruto as he flew.
"I'm not done just yet, all weapons online!" said Eggman.
Music Start: Sonic Advance 2 OST; Extra Zone-True Area 53
Eggman fired a volley of energy balls towards Naruto who swiftly dashed from left to right as he evaded the incoming projectiles, that was when the doctor followed it up launching a salvo of missiles which flew straight him. Naruto dodged those too, but the missiles performed a uturn and flew at him again, forcing the fox to evade again.
[Those missiles will continue to pursue you unitl they make impact] said Nicole.
"So they just have to hit something then, in that case…," Naruto flew straight at Eggman and quickly maneuvered around the mech for the missiles to hit him "Hope you don't mind takebacks,"
Eggman growled in anger "Why you little- take this!" he aimed the tailend of the mech which is reveal to be some sort of cannon as it fired a white beam of energy. Naruto saw the cannon aiming at him and quickly flew upwards to avoid the blast.
Naruto performed a handsign as an arm made out of yellow chakra shot out of his back which waved in an arc and formed multiple Rasengan above his head before multiple chakra arms appeared to hold the spheres "Rasen-Rampage!" and thrust them towards the mech which sent it flying.
Eggman wasn't one to give in as he launched another salvo of missiles and followed them with energy balls in a scattershot. Naruto took evasive action to avoid the energy projectiles when he saw the first missile, he twirled around to bat it away with his tails to hit the mech, then several chakra arms shot out from his back to grab the remaining missiles as he continued to move around and dodge the energy balls before flinging the missiles back at the mech.
"Hold still and get hit already!" The mech continued to fire missiles and energy balls back-to-back with the fox evading and countering, then the doctor saw an opportunity when the opponent exposed himself and fired a beam from the cannon with a direct hit "Gotcha, now to put an end to you!"
Naruto's eyes widened in alarm as he discovered that his body was frozen in place "Damn, can't move!" he looked to see the mech approaching him and felt something pulling him towards it.
[Naruto! that was a freeze ray that he hit you with, now he's trying to suction you into the mech!] said Nicole.
"I don't think so!" Chakra arms shot out from his body and grabbed the mech, pushing it back from getting any closer "Kurama!"
"Got it!" chakra flared around Naruto as it took on the form of Kurama's head with jaws wide open ready to chomp down on the mech. Eggman's eyes widened behind his goggles in shock as he hastily cancelled the suction and retreated before the jaws closed in on his mech "Tch…missed,"
"Don't forget that Cream-chan's mom is in there," said Naruto.
"No I haven't forgotten," said Kurama before the head receded.
Naruto faced Eggman as he piloted the mech to spin rapidly at the same time discharging both energy balls and missiles, he evaded the energy projectiles while deflecting the missiles with his tails before stretching a hand out for an enlarged chakra arm to project and grab the mech, stopping it in place then created another to punch it away.
[The doctor's mech is in critical condition, a little more should suffice] said Nicole.
"Got it," Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist as golden chakra gathered around it, then he charged in a streak of golden light and appeared before Eggman with his fist reared back "This ends here!" he lashed out with a powerful punch which caused multiple parts of the mech to fall apart as it began to explode.
Music End
During the explosion, Naruto saw a metal pod eject from the wreckage and fall towards the planet. He could sense life within it and realized just who was inside it "Cream-chan's mother is inside that pod!"
[You have to stop it from falling or the atmospheric entry will burn through the pod and harm her!] said Nicole.
Naruto dove towards the pod as fast as he could before finally reaching it, he moved his body to the bottom with his back to the atmosphere so as to serve as a shield against the friction. He gritted his teeth to withstand the burning heat at his back and Kurama was manipulating the chakra to reduce the damage.
*Crack, crack*
Upon entering the stratosphere, the fox heard some cracking sounds and looked up only for his eyes to widen in shock upon seeing cracks appear on the metal. The pod finally shattered into many pieces from the pressure, causing Naruto to temporarily spiral out of control in midair. He managed to get back in control and looked to see Cream's mother falling below.
"Darn it! Hold on I'm coming!" Naruto dove towards her once more and stretched a hand out for a chakra arm to shoot outwards and gently wrap around her before being pulled towards him, then held her in a bridal carry after a somersault while reducing the velocity of their fall with his ability of flight "Are you okay?"
The female rabbit nodded her head in affirmation as she smiled gratefully at her savior "I'm fine, my name is Vanilla the rabbit, thank you very much for saving me,"
Naruto flashed her a foxy grin "Hehe, that's the very same thing Cream said to me when we first met,"
"Cream? You met my daughter? Is she okay?" asked Vanilla worriedly.
"She's completely fine, she's even waiting for you right now. I'll take you to her right now, just brace yourself a bit cause this might discomfort you,"
"Okay,"
Naruto then concentrated on the Hirashin kunai which he had given to Cream and warped over to it in a yellow flash.
Over at the Leaf Forest Zone, we find Cream, the Chao, Knuckles, Tails and Mina all waiting in apprehension. Ever since they escaped from Egg Utopia which had crashed in another part of the island and exploded. They saw the space station explode and feared for the worst.
"Darn it, I knew we should have gone with him!" said Knuckles clenching his fists in frustration.
"But we might have made things worse," said Tails despite feeling the same way.
"But still,"
Cream gripped the handle of the Hirashin kunai with the Chao looking worried, especially Kou and Yoru "He promised that he would rescue my mom and return safely, and I believe he will come back,"
Mina placed a hand on Cream's shoulder with a smile "I believe so too, the short time with him shows me that he values his promises,"
It was for only a few moments when the group saw a yellow flash and Naruto appeared before them in a transformed state with Vanilla in his arm. After powering down, he gently placed Vanilla gently on the ground while she recovered from the slight disorientation from the jutsu.
"Hey guys, we're back,"
"Naruto!" they ran towards them with smiles on their faces while the Chao tackled him with a hug and he laughed from being tickled a bit.
"Looks like you kept your word, you really had us worried there for a second when we saw that space station explode," said Knuckles with a smirk.
"Sorry about that, Eggman was just that stubborn to give in,"
Tails nodded in agreement "You're definitely right about that, Sonic and I always get that from him,"
"All that matters is that you came back alive and rescued Cream's mother," said Mina with a smile.
They turned to see Cream embracing her mother with tears in her eyes, they smiled as they watched this loving moment with Naruto remembering how he met the chakra belonging to his mother within his mindscape and the overwhelming joy upon learning who she is to him. he saw them approaching him with smiles as Vanilla spoke.
"I would like to thank you all for everything you've done for us, for that we're truly grateful," said Vanilla as she and Cream bowed to them.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before responding "It's no problem, I wanted to help," Tails and the others nodded in agreement to what he said "Looks like it's time to go,"
Cream and Cheese walked up to Naruto, looking a bit sad "Will we see you again?"
Naruto went down on one knee and placed a hand on top of her head with a warm smile like he did before "Of course you will, I'll even visit when I'm free plus you still have my Hirashin kunai so I'll appear by your side when you need me," Cream nodded happily before jumping into his arms and gave him a hug which he returned earnestly with the other looking on with a smile.
"He's so nice, he would make a great father," Mina blushed when such a stray thought crossed her mind.
Nicole was just as observant with her partner [You really are something to behold, things would truly be eventful with you around]
Everyone turned to look at the setting sun as it slowly brings a day full of adventures to a happy end before rising from the west to signal the beginning of new ones.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, I've finally come to the end of the Sonic Advance 2 arc. I was informed by a good friend of mine of how many readers wanted the ending of this arc to appear sooner and so decided to comply with their request. But I implore you to exercise more patience as there are my other fictions which are just as deserving of attention so I'll be hitting a cooldown period for a while but the next arc will be just as exciting and unexpected.
A little spoiler, Naruto will be gaining several powerups relating to an unknown affiliation and the mysterious azure flame from within his body among other things.
I'm also setting up a poll for which type of story you would want me to publish next? Be sure to check out later on my profile page.
So read and review as always.
This is Hussbek from Ghana
Signing out.