-Chapter 153-

Mad Scramble

Station Square

Back at the Thorndyke Mansion, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were flipping through TV channels when they heard a motorcycle engine.

"Is that Uncle Sam?" Chris asked.

"Maybe," Keith theorized. "Let's go see."

They headed to the door, shocked to see Shadow pulling into the driveway on a black motorcycle. Hope was riding with him, grinning happily.

"Hope? And Shadow?" Keith asked.

"What's going on?" Sonic questioned.

"Commander Tower gave Shadow an alternative to jail time," Hope explained. "The same deal he gave Rouge."

"Hope and I are now part of a specialized GUN unit," Shadow added. "We're going to be working with Rouge and Omega from now on."

"Rouge even dubbed us Team Dark," Hope included. "What do you think?"

"Not bad," Tails remarked. "But what's with the bike?"

"The Dark Rider," Shadow explained. "All GUN agents need to be issued a vehicle."

"And a firearm," Hope piped up. "I'm working on that part."

"We're just glad Shadow's not in jail," Chris remarked.

"As am I," Shadow agreed. "But whatever I did to merit it, I intend to atone by protecting this world."

Hope smiled, wrapping an arm around him.

Artika

Deep within the frozen lands of Artika, miles north of Holoska, was a GUN black site consisting of a maximum security facility. It was here that Dr. Robotnik was transported following the Egg Moon incident, and it was here Tower had traveled, intending to interrogate the prisoner on what was done to Shadow. He ventured down towards the deepest cell in the facility, where Robotnik sat upon a bench. He was handcuffed and shackled, keeping him tethered to the floor. He was looking down, and not moving.

Robotnik, we need to talk," he insisted.

Robotnik remained silent and unmoving. Tower entered the cell, looking him over.

"We found Shadow in stasis at one of your bases," he went on. "You mindwiped him, planned to brainwash him. And now you're going to tell me exactly what you did and how to undo it."

Again, he got no response.

"What? No insults or gloating? No evil laugh?"

When he still elicited no response, he grabbed Robotnik by the collar of his prison jumpsuit and lifted him into the air.

"Answer me, damn it!" he ordered.

Robotnik just sagged in his grip, hanging limply, and when Tower slammed him into the wall, there was a metallic clang. He punched Robotnik in the face, and almost immediately dropped him. His hand throbbed and Robotnik just crumbled, still unmoving. Tower put two and two together, pulling him up, grabbing the flesh-like part of the face, and pulling. The face came off, revealing a metallic head with glowing blue eyes and solid metal mustache and eyebrows.

"Son of a bitch…" he spat as he dropped the robot, rushing out of the cell. "It was an Aurora-damned Eggbot!"

"What?!" a guard shrieked. "Impossible! We ran blood tests, heart rate, everything! It was the actual Robotnik when we brought him in!"

"He must have been switched at some point," Tower realized before perking. "Wait, the 6-S were stolen, right? Did you check him then?"

"Agent Stone did personally," the guard confirmed.

"Robotnik must have falsified the data," Tower theorized. "Damn it." He pulled out his phone. "The Freedom Fighters must be made aware."

Station Square

At the mansion, the group was sitting, enjoying tea when they heard a familiar laugh. Bokkun flew in through the window.

"Hiya!" he greeted.

"Gyah!" Sticks exclaimed. "Flying robot!

She threw her teacup at him. Chris sighed.

"Sticks, can you not use my mom's good china as a weapon, please?" he asked.

"But you made me leave all my actual weapons back at base!" Sticks defended.

"Don't shoot the messenger!" Bokkun objected. "I have a special message for Sonic and friends!"

He presented his monitor. As it powered on, everyone's jaws dropped at the sight of a familiar figure, and the sound of his laugh.

"Eggman!" they all exclaimed.

"Surprised to see me, Sonic?" Robotnik gloated. "Like the fleas in your fur, I keep coming back!"

Sticks happened to be scratching behind her ear at that moment. She quickly stopped as Sonic faced the screen.

"How the hell did you escape from prison?!" he demanded.

"Let's just say that you're not the only one with supportive family members," Robotnik answered.

"Aggie…" Hope gasped. "No, you didn't!"

"Indeed, she did," Robotnik confirmed. "The me locked up in GUN's black site has been an Eggbot this whole time, and I used this entire time to plan out my next scheme." He grinned. "Did you enjoy Grimer's Tails Doll distraction?"

"What's your game, Eggman?!" Sonic demanded. "Spill it!"

"Temper, temper, Sonic," Robotnik mocked. "I think I see a little black in your blue. Now, my ultimate weapon is complete. In three days, it'll be my favorite part of the game, Spikeball."

He looked at them, his red-and-black eyes showing past his shades. "Sudden death. Yours, that is."

He exploded into cackling laughter as the monitor cut out. Bokkun then dropped the monitor on the coffee table.

"Well, gotta go! But I had a blast!"

He laughed and took off as a timer began counting down from five. The group gasped. Sonic grabbed it, looking around frantically before shoving it into the dishwasher. He hit the ground as the monitor exploded, deforming the door. He slowly got up, sighing, only to see raw sewage flooding up through the sink. As it began to overflow, he put his hands behind his back and headed for the door, whistling casually. Seeing the mess, the others followed suit.

"Mr. Tanaka?" Chris began. "Please call a plumber."

"Right away, Master Chris."

At that moment, Shadow's com went off. He clicked it on.

"Dad just went to the black site in Artika!" Dr. Bennet exclaimed. "Robotnik was-"

"An Eggbot," Hope cut in. "We already know."

"How-?"

"He called to gloat," Shadow replied.

"Ah…" Sarah sighed. "Report back to headquarters immediately. Looks like Team Dark will get to prove themselves."

"We're on our way."

-X-

Shadow and Hope boarded the Dark Rider, riding off and leaving the Freedom Fighters to head back to Knothole and discuss the situation. As they went, Hope was on the phone, calling Eggatha.

"You're in big trouble, Aggie!" she snapped. "We know you busted Eggman out of GUN custody! You've been lying to me for weeks!"

"I know, I know…" Eggatha sounded frantic. "But you need to-"

"How did you even find him?!" Hope demanded.

"After Cocoa Island, he put a tracer in my neck. He has a similar one in his left molar, so we always know where the other is. Look, you can be mad at me all you want, but something big is going down. You need to-"

Suddenly, the line began to cut in and out, getting white noise before going dead. Hope looked at her phone in annoyance.

"Really? That's when it cuts out?"

She rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone in her pocket.

Robotropolis

"Hope?" Eggatha called into her phone. "Hope!"

"Cell service has been cut," Metal declared.

Eggatha yelped, turning to see Metal standing in the doorway of her lab. He stepped in and Eggatha backed up against the wall.

"M-Metal… please..."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Agatha." He reached out, gently ruffling her hair despite her cringing. "I just can't have you contacting the Freedom Fighters. Not yet at least."

He gently pulled the phone from her trembling hands, absorbing it into his body. She swallowed hard as he stepped away.

"I've also blocked email and instant messenger. You can still use the internet, but you will be unable to post anything or contact anyone."

"So I'm a prisoner?" Eggatha asked, somewhat bitterly. "Like my uncle?"

"No," Metal shook his head, bending down so he was eye level with her. "This is only temporary, I promise. I just can't have your proclivity for moral ambiguity ruin an actual chance of establishing the empire."

Eggatha turned away and Metal vented as if sighing.

"You'll understand in time," he told her, walking out of her lab. "I'll have Orbot bring you some dinner later."

The door closed and Eggatha crumbled to the ground, tears in her eyes. As she knelt there crying, she heard the familiar laughter of Bokkun approaching. She looked up, seeing him come through the window.

"Lady Agatha!" he called out happily. "I'm back! Didja-"

Eggatha grabbed him, covering his mouth and shushing him. He fell silent, and she slowly released his mouth.

"Bokkun, listen to me," she said in a hushed whisper. "I need you to fly to Angel Island as fast as you can. Head for Azure Lake and warn the Chaotix to be ready."

"Um… okay. But why?"

"I can't tell you, okay? Metal's already cut off all lines of communication, and you're my only hope. If they ask, just tell the Chaotix I'll pay double their rate if they help me stop this latest plan."

Bokkun nodded, then took off back out the window.

Angel Island

In the Azure Lake Garden, Cream played with Drake and the other Chao as Kat watched off to the side.

"Thank you all for playing with me," she said. "I was really upset about Gamma. He was a good robot."

Drake hugged her, getting a pat on the head in return.

"Hey Cream!" Kat called. "You hungry? I can make us some grilled cheeses if you want."

"That sounds yummy," Cream replied. "Thank you."

Kat got up, popping into Chaotix HQ. "Hey, Vector! I'm making grilled cheese! Do you dorks want any?"

"Extra butter, hold the sarcasm!" Vector replied.

Kat went to the kitchen, beginning to do so. After a minute, Espio entered, leaning against the wall.

"Not to be rude, but why are you here watching Cream?" he asked. "I thought you'd be down in Knothole working out how to stop Eggman's latest plan."

"Chris, Keith, and I drew straws to see who'd be the Cream-sitter today," Kat explained. "I lost."

"Ah, I see."

"Eh, I don't mind. Frankly, not getting roped into the latest world ending shenanigans would be nice."

At that very moment, they heard a scream from Cream. Everyone perked, hurrying out to see a Badnik battalion swarming in and running after the Chao with nets and the like.

"I'll get you, you varmint!" Cubot shouted in his cowboy voice.

"The Chao!" Kat exclaimed.

Ditching her food, she bolted outside. "Hey! Get the hell away from the Chao, you bolt brains!"

The minute he saw her, Cubot dropped his net, retracting into cube form. "Whatever you say, little lady."

She gave him a solid kick, then looked around for Cream. She found her and Cheese fighting off numerous Swatbots, standing before Drake.

"Stay away!" Cream shouted. "Leave us alone!"

Cheese chirped angrily, seemingly agreeing with her. Unbeknownst to them, several swatbots were positioning themselves above the group of Chao with a large prison capsule. Upon seeing it, Kat went wide-eyed.

"CREAM!" she screamed.

She dove forward, shoving the small rabbit and Cheese away just as the capsule was dropped.

"Kat!" Cream cried.

The capsule clamped shut, snagging both Kat, Drake, and at least a dozen Chao. A group of Buzzbombers came down with a robotic claw, picking it up. Cubot looked up from where he had landed. When he saw Kat had been captured, he began dancing.

"Yeehaw!" he cheered. "We got 'er!"

"Celebrate later!" Orbot snapped. "We have Chaos' son! It's time to go!"

"Right! Let's vamoose!"

They hurried away with the capsule in tow. Cream could only watch helplessly before she and Cheese hurried into Chaotix HQ

"Mr. Vector! Mr. Vector!" she cried.

"Creamy?" Vector asked. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Eggman's robots took Drake and Kat!"

"What?!" Vector cried.

"How?!" Julie-Su demanded.

"They had one of the capsules he uses to trap Mobini. Kat pushed me out of the way."

"Don't worry, Cream," Julie assured. "We'll get them back."

"Aww... am I too late?"

Everyone turned to see Bokkun sitting on the windowsill.

"What do you want?" Vector demanded.

"Isn't there someone else you can annoy, Bokkun?" Ray questioned. "Friends? Family? Deadly sandworms?"

"Well, you guys are just rude," Bokkun said. "But I still got a message for ya. And it's from Lady Agatha, extra urgent."

"We're listening." Espio replied.

"I was supposed to warn you about something going down, but I guess I'm too late." Bokkun mused. "However, Lady Agatha's offering to pay you double your rates if you'll investigate this matter."

Vector's face lit up. "We'll do it!"

"Hold on a second, Vector," Mighty insisted. "Eggman attacks the island to kidnap the Chao, and mere seconds later Eggatha tries to hire us for a job? Does none of that seem just a tiny bit suspicious to you?"

"Hey, it ain't no secret Eggatha doesn't agree with all of Eggman's stuff," Vector pointed out. "Including hurting Chao. Besides, we still need to find the little critters, and Kat."

"Mighty's not wrong," Ray noted. "I mean, Eggman's never tried to attack or capture Chao before. Something's gotta be up."

"All the more reason to look into it," Vector insisted. "Besides, you know our policy. We never turn down work that pays."

"Yeah, you know our policy!" Charmy chimed in.

"You guys do that," said Julie-Su. "I'm taking Cream back to Knothole. Here's hoping Sonic and Sally can spare some manpower to help out."

"Right," Vector nodded. "Meanwhile, Team Chaotix is on the case. Let's move!"

Mystic Ruins

Meanwhile, in the Mystic Ruins, Big and Froggy were doing what they did best: fishing. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his pole.

"We got one, Froggy!" he declared, getting a croak from his friend.

He gave a mighty tug, only to find a massive mechanical fish with turquoise coloration on the end of his line. It leapt forward, snatching Froggy up in his mouth before splashing back in the water.

"Froggy!" Big cried. "Not again!"

As the fish swam away, Big stood up, realizing only one group of people could help…

Knothole

At Freedom HQ, Sonic and the others were discussing battle plans and the like when Julie-Su and Cream suddenly warped in.

"He attacked the Chao! He took Drake!" Cream said frantically.

"She shoved Cream out of the way!" Julie-Su added at the same time. "It happened so fast, we didn't even have time to react."

Before they could question it, Big came running in.

"A big fishy robot took Froggy!" he cried. "You gotta help me!"

They all began talking, overlapping each other. Sonic covered his ears for a minute before Sally stood up, clamping her hands around Julie and Big's mouths to keep them quiet while Sonic gently covered Cream's mouth.

"Now we're gonna take our hands away," Sally began, "and when we do, we want you to calmly tell us what's going on, understand?"

All three nodded.

"Okay. Cream, you first."

Sonic slowly uncovered Cream's mouth and backed off.

"Dr. Eggman sent Badniks to Azure Lake," the bunny told them. "He kidnapped a bunch of Chao, including Drake."

"Kidnapping Chao?" Sonic asked. "That's low, even for him."

"He got Kat too," Julie-Su spoke up. "Cream would've been captured with them if she hadn't pushed her away."

"What?!" Knuckles shrieked.

"It all happened so fast, Knuckles! We had no time to react!"

"You let them take not just Chaos' son, but Kat too?!"

"We didn't 'let' them do anything!"

Green mist began rising off of Knuckles' body. "Why didn't you stop them?!"

"It was over just as quickly as it began! Which part of that didn't you understand?!"

Sonic quickly got between them.

"Cool it, both of you," he ordered. "What's done is done. All that matters is getting them back."

"Froggy got taken too," Big added. "A metal fish swallowed him!"

"Capturing Chao, and Froggy…" Tails mused. "It doesn't make sense. Froggy has no fragment of Chaos in his body anymore. What's Eggman playing at here?"

"Whatever it is, I'm gonna kick his fat ass five ways on Sunday when I find him!" Knuckles swore.

"Knux, chill," Sonic told him. "You're misting."

Knuckles looked down at himself. He immediately got into a meditative position, taking slow deep breaths until the mist faded.

"Interesting," Rotor remarked. "Sonic has electricity. You seem to have... fog."

"I saw him use that mist once, when we first met," Sonic noted. "I haven't since."

"I haven't been pissed enough to use it," Knuckles explained. "Until now."

"Eggman means business this time," Mina mused. "Stealing Drake and Froggy, not to mention this big weapon he's gonna launch in three days…"

"What's the plan?" Johnny asked.

"This keeps getting bigger and bigger," Sonic noted. "We're gonna need to divide and conquer."

"Agreed," said Sally. "You, Tails, and Knuckles look into Robotnik's weapon. Find out what exactly it is, and stop it before it can be launched. Amy, you take Cream, Big, and Julie-Su, and look into what his plans for Froggy and the Chao are."

"We're on it," Amy declared.

"Don't worry, Knuckles," Julie-Su assured. "Everyone's coming home. I swear."

"The rest of us will work on contingencies and the like in the event you fail and he launches the weapon." Sally concluded.

"Sounds good," Sonic nodded. "Let's do it to it."

They split off into their respective groups to go to work.

Robotropolis

At Citadel Robotnik, Kat was released from the capsule along with the Chao. They were herded away while she instantly found herself cuffed and yanked to her feet. She tried to break them, to no avail.

"I learn from my mistakes, Winters," Robotnik informed her. "Megatal handcuffs. There's no snapping those chains."

"Kidnapping Chao, Eggman?" Kat asked. "Man, there is no low you won't stoop to. You do know when Chaos finds out you kidnapped his son, he is gonna be pissed."

"Let me worry about the living puddle," Robotnik said flippantly. "You should be more concerned with yourself right now. I still owe you for that time you broke Agatha's rib."

"I thought you got even when you broke my arm worse than it already was. Besides, I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"Well, I'm going to change that before this day is done. Mark my words, Kathryn."

Kat blinked.

"Hang on. Did you... just use my name? You always call me 'the Winters brat' or 'that psycho girl'."

"Your point?"

Kat's eyes narrowed. "You're not Eggman… are you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're not talking the same way," Kat listed. "You haven't done one evil laugh or gloat, and you didn't correct me when I called you Eggman. The real Eggman hates being called that, and never wastes an opportunity to laugh maniacally or rub how his latest evil plan is gonna succeed and how Sonic can't stop him in our faces. So why don't you cut the act... and tell me who you really are?"

Robotnik scowled, before chuckling to himself. "Clever girl."

He began melting into a puddle of liquid metal, reforming into Neo Metal Sonic. Upon seeing the larger, more monstrous robot, Kat's bravado evaporated.

"Metal Sonic?" she asked.

"Neo Metal Sonic," he corrected. "This is the big plan the doctor and Agatha have been working on since the Egg Moon failed. This is what necessitated the Tails Doll rampage. I'm new and improved, Kathryn. And nothing, not even Sonic, can stop me!"

He grabbed her by her throat, lifting her into the air. "Feeling scared yet?"

He chuckled cruelly as Kat squirmed feebly in his grip...

Author's Note:

Well, Kat's in a tough spot, isn't she?

Please R&R. Until next time!