Kingdom of Acorn
Sally would admit that there were times when politics bored her beyond belief. It was a sentiment that she shared with Blaze. But as heir to the Kingdom of Acorn, she shall put aside such thoughts and focus on the task at hand.
She missed adventuring. Ever since Eggman lost control of the world with the Phantom Ruby, rebuilding has been the biggest priority for not just her kingdom, but for the rest of the world. It felt like years have passed since then, but it was close to completion.
She let out a sigh and lay on her bed, exhausted beyond belief. She has learned to cherish these moments of rest, however brief they may be.
She lay on her side, not feeling much of anything before she gazed upon her right arm; an arm made of metal. Though the roboticization had been mostly reversed, some scars, both physical and mental, remained. Though Bunnie has tried to console her about it, she's had a lot of difficulty getting used to this new limb.
With a sigh, she laid back on the bed, eyes heavy from exhaustion and drifted off to sleep, not looking forward to the day ahead.
A beeping from the intercom woke her from any possible slumber. She thinned her lips and reached for it on her nightstand. It was a call from Sonic. A slight jolt of energy ran through her as she answered.
"Heya, Sally!" the blue hedgehog said on the other side of the feed.
"Sonic!" the princess smiled, "this is unexpected!"
"Yeah, well, Silver dropped in rather unexpectedly." the hedgehog smirked. Speaking of Silver, he was trying to move past Sonic's constantly moving and hogging his feed so that he could confirm he was there.
"The future is messed up again?" Sally asked with a roll of her eyes, receiving a nod from Sonic, "very well. I'll go get everyone else. You guys catch up."
"Catching up is what I'm good at," Sonic smirked again before he shut off his feed.
With a newfound vigor, Sally decided sleep would have to wait. She leapt off the bed and headed to her dressing table, grabbing a small compact mirror and opening it, letting it spring to life, revealing the image of a lynx inside the screen: Nicole the Holo-Lynx was back online.
"Good evening, Sally," said the AI with a smile.
"Good evening, Nicole," the princess responded, "it's time to bring the band back together."
West Side Island
"You didn't have to hog the screen, you know?" Silver muttered as he flew alongside Sonic at blurring speeds.
"Sally's a grown-up, she knew you were there." Sonic retorted.
The white hedgehog groaned, "I didn't even tell her about the Doombringer…"
"Don't worry, Silver," the blue hedgehog said, "I'm sure you'll tell everyone at the meeting."
"Hm." He slightly grimaced before changing the subject, "do you have any warp rings?"
"Nope. Tails should have some on him, though. Let's head to his house!"
The two hedgehogs picked up the pace and arrived at Tails' house in no time. It was pretty easy to find given that it was shaped after the fox's face, but they ran into a little problem.
There was no sign of Tails.
"Huh," Sonic muttered, "he'd usually be here. I actually wanted to stop by and say 'hi' to him before you showed, Sil. Maybe catch a bite. That's part of the reason I was running around Emerald Hill. That and nostalgia."
Silver thinned his lips as he crossed his arms while looking around the garage. He always found Tails' machinery fascinating, but he never stuck around to listen to his mutterings about how he built them. Sometimes the fox boy liked to ramble too much.
He picked up a little sign on one of the few bare sections of a table. His lips pursed even tighter as read what it said.
'OUT RUNNING ERRANDS. BE BACK SOON.'
"Looks like Tails is away from home," he said to Sonic, holding the sign up for him to see.
"Huh," Sonic placed a finger on his chin, "I wonder what he's doing…"
"It doesn't matter," Silver put his hands up, "we need to meet with the others as soon as possible!"
Sonic nodded, using superspeed to rummage through all the stuff that was in the makeshift lab before finally stumbling upon the container that contained the warp rings. "Ah-ha!"
He flicked it up with his thumb and caught it in his palm, "Alright, Silver," he turned to the time-traveler, "one-way ticket to the Kingdom of Acorn coming up!"
He tossed the ring like a baseball, where it then expanded until it was bigger than a man and hovered in the air, staying perfectly still and revealing the location of the underground cave base they were heading to. The two hedgehogs leapt in the ring, the portal closing almost immediately after they passed through.
"Sonic! Silver!" The voice of Sally revealed itself and they saw the princess awaiting them all near a table, waving to them.
"Hey, Sal!" Sonic waved back while Silver just did a little awkward wave of his own, "we're just waiting for the others?"
"Yep," the princess responded, "Nicole has already sent the message."
Sonic sighed, already tapping his foot impatiently, "the waiting game," he seethed, "always hated it."
Angel Island
"Okay, let's recap," Knuckles said, clasping his hands together, "you guys are from a parallel dimension and have made your home in a prehistoric paradise?"
"Indeed." Ka-Zar answered, though he wasn't sure he'd call it a paradise.
Knuckles continued, "And somehow you got here…"
"Via a white flash of light." Shanna finished. She was currently scratching Zabu's ears.
"And now here we are…" the echidna droned, "and somehow you guys know about the Master Emerald?"
"Of a sort." Ka-Zar stood up, looking upon the brilliant green jewel, "we have stumbled upon ruins and a mural depicting it and seven gemstones."
"The Chaos Emeralds…" Knuckles muttered as the wild man continued.
"I never assumed anything much of it. There was nothing else that pointed to the existence of these mystical gemstones, but it always was biting the back of my mind," Ka-Zar grimaced, "my curious side always wanted to find out more. Was this the remnant of an ancient civilization completely lost to time?"
Knuckles' face lowered at his comment before steeling himself, "something like that."
"Oh?" Ka-Zar raised a brow.
"The Echidnas - my people - likely made that mural. They knew the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald more than anyone on this planet," Knuckles spoke with slight pride before his face fell again, "but their knowledge led to an insatiable greed, which made them pay the ultimate price…"
He gestured around himself at the temple and surrounding ruins, "these ruins are all what's left of them. Including myself."
Both Ka-Zar and Shanna frowned, "I am sorry, Knuckles," the latter said, "it must be a great burden knowing you are the last of your kind."
The echidna looked away, crossing his arms, "I try not to let it get to me."
The two humans looked at the echidna with a sorrowful glare before the sudden noise of beeping occurred to them. They turned to the source of the noise: A tablet connected to a solar paneled battery.
"Huh," Knuckles muttered, heading up to it, "who's calling this late at night?"
He picked up the tablet and answered the call, revealing the flag that had an acorn in the center of it.
"Must be important for Sally to call." Knuckles nonchalantly said, leaving the cavemen confused as to who he referred to.
The screen flashed to show Nicole the Holo-Lynx, "Greetings, Knuckles," the AI said with a smile.
"Hey, Nicole," the echidna greeted, "so, what's with the late-night call?"
"An urgent meeting. Silver has returned from the future warning of a dire threat."
The guardian chuckled, "well, what else is new?" he smiled, "I'll be there shortly!"
The tablet turned off and he put it back on the battery pack, moving to the side and opened a small bag next to the tablet and battery. In the bag contained a few warp rings.
"Who was that girl?" Ka-Zar asked, making Knuckles move his head to where he was. He did not answer the question, but pursed his lips to the side as if in deep contemplation.
"I gotta go for a minute, but…" He paused.
"But what, Knuckles?" Shanna asked.
"I can't leave the emerald unguarded," the echidna grumbled, "but I don't exactly trust you guys."
"We assure you, Knuckles, no harm will come to the emerald in your absence," Shanna reassured, "it is safe in our hands."
Knuckles thinned his lips, "well, you guys are certainly a lot more trustworthy than Eggman, but I've been duped before…"
Knuckles put a hand on his chin, wondering what to do…
Baxter Building
Back on Earth 9723, Reed rubbed his tired eyes as he analyzed the samples of energy traces that emit from the Norn Stone in hopes to pick up a trail that led him to… somewhere. But all it did was lead him to dead ends. Leaving trails simply wasn't how these items worked.
He hated magic. Truly.
Suddenly, a beeping noise indicating a visitor snapped him out of his concentration. He rubbed his tired eyes which had slightly dark circles underneath from a lack of sleep.
The door opened to reveal Stark. And just like that, he suddenly had a headache to go with his lack of sleep.
"Hey, Reed!" The billionaire greeted, "yeesh, you look like crap."
"Feel like it, too." Richards sighed, "Haven't gotten much sleep as of late."
"Still searching for Doom?"
"Indeed." Reed adjusted a sore shoulder, "it's been quite the task. Thor is searching on the Asgard side, but it's like trying to find a microchip in a bag of rice."
"Interesting analogy…" Tony muttered.
Reed then proceeded to ramble about how each Norn Stone is different and leads to different dimensions, sometimes different realities altogether (which were separate from the former, somehow).
Stark had taken a seat at a nearby desk while he raved. While he enjoyed Reed's tangents, he can tell this was less an outburst relating to genuine interest and more a frustrated attempt to keep himself awake. A mind too tired to function, yet one that cannot get any sleep.
"I just don't have a solution to this…" Richards sighed, slumping in his chair.
Stark took in a breath before offering a potential solution.
"You think we should bring the band back together?" he asked, his chin leaning on his folded hands.
Reed was confused, "What band-" he paused in realization, his brow furrowing, "No, Tony."
"I'm just saying, Reed, it's our best shot at finding out what's going on."
"The last time we did that, we jettisoned the Hulk into space. And look where that got us."
Tony cringed, "my shoulders still feel a bit sore from that," he said, rubbing said shoulders with his hands, "yeah, we screwed up big time, but what team hasn't screwed up, huh? You can't tell me the F4 hasn't caused a big disaster to fall upon earth."
Reed rubbed his brow, "No one is perfect, Tony," he exasperated, "yes, we have made a few mistakes, many of which threatened the world, but we never let our egos get the better of us until the last minute."
"That's why we get someone who will bring us down to earth," Stark said, almost too enthusiastically, "someone who will keep our egos in check."
"Who's to say history won't repeat?"
"It won't."
"You're too sure of yourself, Tony," Reed intoned, "that's rarely a good sign."
Tony sighed, "And here I thought you always looked on the bright side."
The smartest man alive was unamused, "I look at facts, Tony. And all facts usually point that when you're too confident, things fall apart fast."
Stark rolled his eyes and just patted his fellow scientist on his shoulder, "look, just think about it, alright? It's been a long few days and we can all use a good night's rest."
"That's the first good idea you've had so far," Reed joked, earning Tony's chuckle.
Shamar
It is a well-known fact on Mobius that the country of Shamar was a hot and arid desert, borderline inhospitable to all but the toughest of lifeforms. Ergo, it was the perfect place for Eggman to establish a hidden factory deep in the heart of the dune sea. No sane person would ever think of going out there and finding it.
In the deep recesses of the factory, the Egg Pawns were hard at work (or perhaps hardly working) when they received the orders to construct a sample of the artificial versions of a new metal alloy. If what Eggman said about how these Adamantium and Vibranium materials, even in the most synthetic states, were said to be more than enough to turn the tide of any battle, who were they to deny this request?
Lazy they often were, they worked fast.
In just a few hours, two ingots were already made. These two ingots, one that shined like platinum, and one that had a dark blue-purple color on it, was placed in the middle of a testing chamber. A laser pointed at both of them and, judging by the loud whirring noises, charging up and ready to fire.
The Egg Pawns outside put on visor goggles and gave a thumbs up, closing the door to the testing chamber, much to the shock of one unfortunate pawn that was stuck in there.
The laser charged to full capacity and the Egg Pawns pressed a button, letting the light show commence. The laser fired at the ingot, its power so great, it lit up the whole chamber and obliterated the unfortunate robot in it.
When the laser eventually powered down, the ingots were revealed to have been melted down. That laser beam reached a temperature comparable to the surface of the sun itself. Only that, after numerous other tests of their durability, did the ingots melt, let alone show signs of damage.
The Egg Pawns all eagerly reported their results to the boss.
Eggman Outpost Theta
To say that the not-so-good doctor was ecstatic over the report would be quite the understatement. He was practically jumping in his seat. Sage even flashed on the screen, having seen the results and displaying a small smile.
"Success! Success!" The rotund mustached fiend yelled with a joy he hadn't felt in a while.
"I take it things are going well, father?" she asked.
"My army will be unstoppable!" the mad scientist boasted, "the first ingots of Doom's artificial metals have already been tested and are capable of withstanding anything short of nuclear annihilation!"
He then grinned his all-too-wide smile, "I am now one step closer to ruling this world," he rubbed his hands, "and Sonic will finally be placed where he rightfully belongs: Crushed beneath my heel!"
Eggman let out his boisterous trademark laugh, "HO-HO-HO-HO!" he guffawed. If Sage could express laughter, she would most certainly join him.
A sudden alarm then began to blare, interrupting them both.
"What in the-" Ivo nearly choked on the air he breathed from the interruption, "Surveillance feed, stat!" From the order, a plethora of camera feeds showed up, but one in particular from a hidden camera at Kingdom Valley was the main cause of concern.
A huge chunk of the valley was illuminated by fire. He could just barely make out a few figures duking it out in the inferno. Eggman could not recognize the man, but he knew the silhouettes of the Mobians and the robot all too well…
"Team Dark…" he seethed, "of course they're here!"
"Which means the rest of G.U.N. won't be far behind." Sage added, "or worse-"
"Do not state the obvious, Sage." Eggman flatly intoned before letting out an animalistic growl, "of all the pains in my rear, it had to be them!
He slammed a button in front of him, "send in an attack garrison at once! Deploy Metal Sonic!"
From his cell, Doom pondered what the heck could be happening. He was in the middle of reading the history of the Ancients when the commotion occurred. Could they be under attack by Eggman's enemies? A training drill?
Regardless, this was Ivo's problem, not his. He went back to reading the data packs, making sure for his suit to activate the noise suppressors to quell that oh so irritating blare.
Sanctum Sanctorum
Doctor Strange was currently in a meditative position, the Cloak of Levitation allowing him to hover as he sat. The Eye of Agamotto glowing brightly as his face was shined by it, every now and then, a muscle in said face twitched, perhaps involuntarily, perhaps a reaction to the countless worlds he peered in.
Steps on the staircase overlooking his window then interrupted his moment of silence. The Eye dimmed down as he turned to see his assistant Wong with a tray of tea
"Thank you, Wong." He said, grabbing a cup and pouring the mug with his telekinesis.
"Hard at work?" His assistant asked, receiving a sigh from Strange.
"Searching the multiverse for Doom is about as difficult as you would expect." The Sorcerer Supreme took a sip of his tea before continuing, "A billion trillion worlds out there… Needle in a haystack doesn't even begin to describe it."
"And you don't even have a giant magnet."
Strange smirked, "Stark is rubbing off on you?"
Wong chuckled, "Spider-Man, actually." He admitted, "His manners could be better, but his quips are quite funny. Don't tell him I said that."
The sorcerer chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't."
Wong smiled and gave a bow as he dismissed himself. Strange sipped his tea yet again, looking out the window of his Sanctum. He heard the doors open and he turned, glancing over the balcony to see Wong greeting Tony Stark and escorting him in.
Speak of the Devil.
"Strange!" Stark excitedly greeted, heading up the stairs.
"Tony…" the sorcerer, was far less thrilled, "what brings you, a man of science, to the Sorcerer Supreme's headquarters?"
"Just need an update on Doom."
The sorcerer sighed, "no luck." He muttered, "I imagine not much on your end, either."
The playboy nodded, "I was actually just talking with Reed on this matter," Tony added, "if one brilliant mind can't do it alone, why not lend some assistance?"
Strange immediately knew where this was going, "you're not suggesting-"
"Yes, I am." He smugly interrupted.
The sorcerer sighed. He looked back at Tony, "who's in on it?"
"Well, aside from Reed, I did ask T'Challa and Captain Britain and they seem to be onboard," Tony droned on, "Namor left voluntarily so he's out of the picture. He never answers his calls anyways. I asked Black Bolt, too, but he declined."
"Given that he was the first to feel the Hulk's wrath, I'd say that's more than warranted." Stephen muttered, sipping his tea again.
"Yeah, Reed and T'Challa brought up the Hulk incident too," Tony glummed, "but this time it'll be different!"
"I'm sure it will." Strange rolled his eyes.
"Like you've made any progress."
Stephen sighed and after a pause, spoke once more, "the offer to bring that whole mess back together, as dangerous as it seems, is sadly the best offer on the table."
Tony smirked, uncrossing his arms and ready to turn on his heels, "Think about it, alright?" He said before fully turning and going down the stairs.
Strange just grumbled, having had enough of Stark's ramblings for one day, "Sure," he answered late with a mumble as the playboy left the Sanctum without another word. With that, he sipped the last of his tea and went back to his meditation.
G.U.N. HQ
Abraham Tower was called to the hangar bay by Topaz. He didn't mind the trek, for his old bones could have used the exercise. He made his way to the hanger, noting Topaz approaching him with a bit of a rush, a tablet in her hands.
"Commander," she greeted.
"Agent Topaz," Abraham greeted back with a nod, "is there something on your mind?"
She nodded, "I've received a report from the Supermax Prison complex." Topaz intoned, "Naugus has been acting up again."
Tower slightly scoffed, "So?"
"He mentioned something about doom coming to us all," Topaz muttered, "this coming so soon after the energy spike has me somewhat on edge, sir."
"Steel yourself, Topaz," Tower reassured her, "We'll await Team Dark's report on the matter of the possible location of Eggman's base. Until then, all we can do is wait."
All of a sudden, as if on cue, a bright flash encompassed the hanger and everyone looked towards it in surprise. A few pulled out their weapons, but most just stood there in shock.
In the center of the flash was Team Dark, hovering for a bit before they all collapsed to the floor with a thud and a grunt. All of them were injured to some extent. Shadow clenched his side, one of Rouge's wings looked bent the wrong way, and Omega's frame was dented and scuffed in multiple areas and even missing an arm, sparks flying out of the knob where the missing limb was.
"What the-" Tower exclaimed as Topaz gasped. He ran up to them, turning to everyone else, "get a medical crew, now!"
As the rest of the soldiers rushed to the nearest medic, he and Topaz hovered over the trio, "Shadow!" Tower exclaimed, "what on earth happened!?"
"How on earth could this happen!?" Topaz added, attempting to prop Rouge up.
"An ambush…" Shadow seethed, answering both questions while clenching his arm as he wearily stood up, "new enemies."
The hedgehog then fell to one knee with a grunt. He tried not to make the pain he was in so obvious. Abraham tried to keep him steady as medics began to surround them, placing down gurneys.
"Who did this?" He asked the hedgehog, but he didn't receive an answer as he, along with Rouge were put onto a gurney and carried away to the medical center.
Metallic footsteps then approached him. "C-COMANDER TOWER! I C-CAN R-REPLAY THE CIRCUMSTAN-STANCES OF THE B-B-BATTLE." Omega piped up, his voice modulator no doubt broken from the damage he sustained. "THE ASSAILANT WAS N-N-NEW. NOT S-SOME-SOMEONE WE-WE ENCOUN-COUNTERED BEFORE."
The commander nodded as Omega played a hologram projector of his POV.
As the hologram played, both the veterans were shocked to see a rather chiseled man flying in front of them in what they could only assume was Kingdom Valley. He had very ornate jewelry decorating his body and held a trident as he hovered in front of them. It even looked as though he had wings on his feet.
"Omega, who is that man?" Topaz queried.
"OUR NEW ENEMY IDENTIFIES AS N-NA-NA-NAMOR."