-Chapter 220-

Get Cracked

Emerald Coast

At Emerald Coast, various beachgoers were going about their day... only for things to take a terrifying turn when Akhlut emerged from the water, an intimidating expression on his face. Immediately, several people were sent fleeing for their lives before the cyberized orca, who took a moment to close his eyes and listen to the sounds with a smirk.

"Oh Aurora, it's HIM!" one girl shouted.

"Ahhhh, those anguished screams…" he mused aloud. "I can't help but find some satisfaction in them."

"The GlacialGod himself has come to grace us with his presence!"

"Wait, what!?" Akhlut's eyes snapped open when he heard a different kind of screaming: shrieks of joy and excitement. And instead of a crowd of people running for their lives, he was greeted by a horde of swooning, heart-eyed fangirls – human and mobian alike, gathering around him.

"Oh Your Holiness!" one of them shouted. "Thank you for taking the time to visit us unworthy mortals! It is nothing short of honor!"

"Ummmm…you're wel…come?" Ahklut said, unsure of what to make of this.

"Master Akhlut!" a man called to him. "How did you get so ripped! Please, teach us your secret!"

"I-I…ummm…"

"Akhlut-sama!" another girl cried out. "Will you marry me!?"

Akhlut froze in shock at that. "Excuse you!?"

"Back off!" shouted another girl as she shoved the previous aside. "If anybody's going to marry him! It's me!"

"No me!"

Akhlut was immediately confused, mortified, and furious at this development, as the swarm continued to scream, grovel, and argue.

"I'm going to be Mrs. The Orca!"

"Why would he ever wanna marry you?!"

"Because unlike some people, I don't have crow's feet!"

"What was that!?"

"You heard me!"

"Akhlut the Orca is mine!"

"No, mine!"

"The sexy, vampire fish is MINE!"

"SHUT UP!" Akhlut shouted as he blasted the crowd back with a psychic wave. "Get the hell away from me before I rip you all apart!"

Rather than be scared off by this show of power, the fans just seemed to redouble their screams.

"He's so assertive!"

"And commanding!"

"I love him even more!"

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Akhlut exclaimed.

"Alright, that's enough!" Everyone turned to the skies to see Eggatha arrive in her Egg Mobile, getting between Akhlut and his fans. "You heard the man, give him some space!" She then turned to Akhlut. "You alright, big guy?"

"I've been better," the orca groused.

"Ummm…who the hell are you?" one girl demanded.

"I think that's Dr. Eggman's daughter," said another.

"No, that's his niece."

"Oh yeah, what was her name again? Omeletta? Eggette? Yolkie-Dolkie?"

"It's Eggatha," Eggatha replied in annoyance. "I mean, technically it's actually Agatha, but-"

"Who cares?!"

Eggatha's eye twitched at that.

"Right…" She stood up on her seat, pulling out a megaphone. She turned it on, letting it squawk loudly before shouting into it. "Attention, all beach-goers! Emerald Coast has been temporarily seized for official Robotnik Empire business for the rest of the day. Unless you want to be captured, cyberized, or killed, please vacate the premises immediately!" With that, she smiled politely. "We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope you have a nice day."

"We're not going anywhere, you little peanut-head!"

Eggatha gritted her teeth. "Peanut?"

"Honestly, who do you think you are?" one girl said irritably. "Keeping the followers of the GlacialGod from their lord and master like that."

"Actually, why is she with him?"

"You think he's babysitting for Eggman?"

"Awwww! That's so sweet!"

"Now I really love him even more!"

"What are they doing?" Eggatha asked.

"I have no idea," Akhlut replied.

"Are you sure he even agreed to it?"

"He's probably being punished for screwing up or something."

"Yeah, that's it."

"Seriously, who would wanna watch over Dr. Eggman's little hellspawn?"

That last comment set Eggatha off. "What?"

"Dude! Watch it!"

"Oh come on, she's gotta be a little monster if she's part of the Empire."

"Yeah, that's true."

Then Akhlut started to get angry.

"Do you think her parents know about this?"

"Knowing her, she probably killed them 'cuz they wouldn't get her a pony or-"

And that was the last straw.

"I told you all to beat it, bitches!" Eggatha snapped, firing several lasers and rockets from her Egg Mobile at the crowd, with Akhlut joining in with his psychic powers with a primal roar.

With that, the beach goers finally ran for the hills. Even so, one particularly airheaded fan paused long enough to wave at Akhlut.

"Call me!" she urged before being sent running by a warning shot from Eggatha. By the end of it all, both villains were out of breath, and completely out of patience.

"Freaking idiots…" Eggatha spat.

Ahklut turned to her, crossing his arms. "You do realize it's your fault for beginning the GlacialGod shit in the first place, right?"

"Yeah…" Eggatha nodded. "That one's on me."

-X-

Meanwhile, Sonic had made it to Emerald Coast, and immediately had to step aside to avoid being trampled by the fleeing beachgoers and fangirls. After a confused blink, he followed along, until coming across Akhlut and the Egg Mobile.

"Sooooo... what was that all about?" he asked.

"You don't want to know," Akhlut replied with a cringe.

"Seriously, you don't," Eggatha agreed.

Sonic did a double take, his jaw dropping when he realized which Robotnik was sitting in the pilot's seat of the Egg Mobile. "Eggatha!?"

"Hi Sonic, long time, no see!" the young Robotnik waved. "I take it you all enjoyed my little Flickee posts?"

"Some more than others," the hedgehog said, looking over his shoulder. "Honestly, I'm surprised he hasn't splattered you all over Robotropolis."

"Not from lack of trying," Akhlut admitted bluntly.

"Yeah…" Eggatha rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "I admit, this joke got way out of hand, way too quickly. But that's what we're here for." She pulled out a camera. "I think beating Mobius biggest hero fifty shades of black and blue, humiliating the Freedom Fighters, and the SSPD in front of a live audience should fix your reputation, wouldn't you agree, Akhlut?"

Akhlut grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Oh yes…"

Sonic gasped before scowling. "That's what all this is about? You attacked Station Square and hurt the Donut Lord just so you could get Akhlut's villain cred back?!"

"That, and he wanted a rematch for what happened during the Egg Carrier retrieval mission," Eggatha tacked on.

"And this time, things will be different, hedgehog," Akhlut swore. "I'm not the same orca you faced in Meropis. This time, I'm going to win, and splatter you all over Robotropolis."

"Fiiiine," Sonic droned, then a smirk crossed his lips. "But could you keep your clothes on when you do it? I know your fans would probably think it'd be hot, but-"

That set Akhlut off. As he charged, Eggatha immediately got out of the blast zone.

"Alright, we're finally ready!" she declared. "Bokkun!"

"Yes, ma'am?" the messenger bot replied as he popped out of the Egg Mobile.

"Boot up Flickee and get some snacks," Eggatha ordered as she began filming. "It's time to start the show!"

Eggatha watched as Sonic faced off against Akhlut. Despite being on dry land, the orca was putting up a much better fight than before, matching him blow for blow. He jumped back, focusing and entering bullet-time before charging forward at full speed, planning to attack him from behind… only to get another shock when Akhlut, despite everything else seemingly frozen around them, slowly turned his head to face him and knocked him on his back with a clothesline. He was on his feet quickly, landing a few Homing Attacks only to be caught in a green halo, Akhlut's outstretched hand glowing.

"Gotcha!" he declared before blasting Sonic back and into the sand. Sonic got to his feet, spitting out sand.

"What the…?" was all he managed before Akhlut grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up so they were eye to eye.

"You're fast, hedgehog," he noted. "But not even you can outrun the speed of thought."

"What the hell's going on?!" Sonic demanded, unable to keep the instinctual fear from his voice. "You weren't this strong the last time we fought!"

"That's because I've been training, you imbecile!" Akhlut retorted. "All day, every day. From the moment I woke up after you trounced me in Meropis to now. What do you think I've been doing for the past few months? Sitting around in a fish tank, eating sardines?"

"Well, considering what Eggman usually does to his cronies…"

That just got him thrown into a rock with a loud crash.

"Honestly, I'm grateful," the orca said, an aura of yellow-green energy flaring around his body. "Before we faced off, I hadn't had a proper challenge in years. I'd grown sloppy. Soft. Arrogant. And weak. I knew I had to fix this problem before our paths crossed again. So I left Robotropolis and wandered the oceans to train and meditate. Honing my mind and body until I'd not only regained my former glory, but surpassed it!"

"Ugh…glad to hear I could help," Sonic wheezed, wincing in pain. "Ow…"

"You have. You've set me back on the proper path and given me something I haven't had in a very long time: a reason to grow stronger." Akhlut's jewel began to glow as he assumed a combat stance. "In gratitude, I grant you the Orca Pod's highest honor and greatest gift..." he smiled savagely. "A warrior's death."

Sonic smiled awkwardly. "Can I return it and get a Chiga Pet (1) instead?"

"No."

With a mighty shout, Akhlut charged at Sonic at shockingly fast speed and made to grab at him, only for Sonic to barely dodge.

Station Square

Meanwhile, the rest of the Freedom Fighters battled Kage and his Egg Troopers. Though the dingo had an advantage in numbers, the heroes' better skills and equipment allowed them to be evenly matched. Or so it seemed…

Tekno barely managed to dodge a blaster shot that would've put a hole in her head, only to be pistol-whipped by another trooper waiting in the wings. Fortunately, she managed to regain her bearings quickly and knocked the soldier out with a well-placed swing of her Graviton Cannon.

"Hey guys!" she said. "Is it me or are these bozos actually putting up a pretty decent fight?"

"You're not imagining things Tekno," Sally said as she blocked another soldier's plasma sword with her Ring Blades. "These guys are putting up a decent fight."

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."

"Bye-bye birdie!"

Tekno turned around to see an Egg Trooper lunging at her, only for Hope to blast him away with her Omochao gun.

"Thanks for the save," the canary said, giving her a thumbs up.

"Don't mention it."

Meanwhile, the more martial arts oriented Freedom Fighters were having better luck. Johnny had managed to take down several soldiers with a few blows from his quarterstaff, while Antoine sliced their weapons to pieces with a flurry of sword swings. But the one having the most luck was Kat, who was beating the stuffing out of them with her bat.

"Whew!" she shouted as she wiped the sweat from her brow. "It's like a 100 Man Clash on Super Smashing Bros. (2)!"

Another soldier attempted to get the jump on her, but Kat socked him in the face without even turning around, sending him into a wall.

"Shǎzi, (3)" Kat scoffed. As she dusted her hands, a piece of paper flew into her face. "Gah!" After peeling the paper off her face, Kat caught a glimpse of what it was. It was a Missing Persons poster of a Mobian dog in his late 20s to early 30s.

"What the…?" Before she could dwell on it, Kat's enhanced senses went off. She looked around and saw an especially jittery Egg Trooper preparing to shoot Hope in the back. In an instant, Kat rushed over and swung her bat into his hand, smashing his blaster and breaking his hand. The soldier screamed in pain as he fell to his knees.

"What the!?" Hope cried out as she turned to see what had happened.

"Attack from behind, will ya?!" Kat said as she raised her bat. "I'll show you what happens when you—!"

"No, please! Stop!" the soldier pleaded, his good hand raised defensively. "I have a family! I'm only doing this because Robotnik captured and cyberized me! I'm begging you, don't kill me!"

"What the…?" Kat stared on in confusion.

"Kat, look!" Hope pointed to the poster in her hand, then the frightened man before them. He was the same man in the picture.

Kat took a closer look at the two, and sure enough, he was the Mobian pictured.

"Oh Aurora…" Kat gasped as she dropped her bat. "I almost…"

"Sir, it's okay." Hope said as she attempted to calm the frightened man. "We're not going to…"

However, before she could continue, Kage locked eyes on his cowering subordinate. The soldier began sparking with crimson electricity as the dingo approached.

"You spineless worm!" he shouted. "Begging for your life like you have no dignity! Now, get up and kill those brats, or I'll have you cracked!"

The trooper froze in horror and almost immediately picked up his broken weapon. With tears in his eyes, he rushed at the two, Kat quickly getting between him and Hope while futilely trying to calm him.

"Stop this!" Kat shouted, blocking the soldier's desperate bludgeoning attempts with her arms while continuing to retreat with Hope. "I'm not going to fight you! Just drop your weapon and I promise nothing will happen to you!"

"I don't have a choice!" the soldier cried. "Please, just give up! This only ends one way!"

Finally, Kat grabbed his arms, reluctantly throwing him to the ground and knocking him out before turning at Kage. Her hair began glowing as she ripped her bracers off, flaring with fiery chaos energy before charging at the vile dingo in a rage. He managed to evade, if barely.

"Cyberization; never fight crazy empowered humans without it," he said in mild relief. As he jumped back, he pointed to Kat. "All of you! Kathryn Winters is your priority target! Take her down!"

Much to his surprise and anger, two people stepped back.

"What!? No way!" one objected.

"Sir, are you out of your damned mind!?" the other added.

"I'm giving you an Aurora-damned order is what I am!" Kage snapped.

"That's 'Wild' Kat Winters! She's a freaking psycho!"

Kat winced a bit, realizing just how infamous she had become.

"She's the one who got me exiled from the Dingo Regime!" Kage shrieked.

"I don't care if she was Abyss the Squid!" the first insisted. "If you think we're gonna throw our lives away fighting 'Wild' Kat Winters in a bloodrage for your daddy issues, then you're- ACK!"

Kage pressed part of his index finger with his thumb, like he was triggering a detonator, causing the Troopers to begin sparking like the other one, only more violently, grabbing everyone's attention.

"What the-!?" Hope gasped.

"Oh Aurora!" the second soldier gasped. "No, Captain, please!"

"SHUT UP!" Kage roared. "I gave you express bloody orders to slaughter that little bitch like the filthy animal she is!"

"We will! We swear! Just turn off the-!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Kage kicked the trooper in the face, breaking his goggles, revealing a heavily damaged cybernetic eye.

"No! Nonononono..!" the second pleaded before being grabbed by the scruff of his neck.

"You disobeyed a direct order," he walked by the downed trooper and grabbed him too. "Insulted a superior officer… and attempted desertion!"

"We're sorry, we're sorry! Dammit, we're sorry!"

"We'll do whatever you want! Just please, don't…!"

"TOO LATE!" Kage roared. "You know what happens to filthy, chickenshit cowards like you!" He bodily threw the Troopers at Kat. "They get cracked!"

Kage performed the detonation motion with both hands. Kat could do nothing but watch and brace herself as the Egg Troopers began to spark and glow brighter, screaming in pain and terror. Sensing what was about to happen, Bunnie used her Extendo-Arm to pull Kat out of the way, and everyone, Freedom Fighters and Egg Troopers alike, stood in horror as the Egg Troopers exploded in a big ball of fire. As the smoke and dust cleared, a helmet flew out and landed near Kage's feet. The dingo looked down at the helmet in contempt.

"Idiots..." he spat before turning to address the rest of the Troopers. "Listen up, you useless, shit-eating pissants! I'm only gonna say this once, so dig the corn out of your ears and pay attention! I will tolerate no insubordination! No surrender! And no quarter! You so much as even think about it," He pointed to the helmet at his feet. "THIS is your fate! THIS is your punishment! THIS is your example! So unless you want THIS to happen to you…" He stamped down on the helmet, crushing it like an empty soda can. "You'll shut your mouth-holes, follow your orders, kill the Freedom Fighters, and you. Will. LIKE IT! Do I make myself clear!?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all intoned.

"I can't hear you!"

"SIR, YES SIR!"

"Good answer!" Kage declared. "Now get out there and KILL. THEM. ALL!"

With that, the Egg Troopers resumed their assault with renewed gusto, throwing themselves into the fray with no regard for their safety or those of their comrades. The Freedom Fighters were quickly overwhelmed as they tried to stop them, a task made near-impossible without killing them. Kat and Hope were still trying to process what happened, the horror overwhelming them.

"Eggman… he put explosives in their cybernetics," Hope realized. "Kage set them off… they begged for their lives, and he slaughtered them!" She let out a choked sound, a hand going to her mouth. "Kat… I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"Me too, Hope…" Kat agreed, just trying to keep the soldiers away from the pair, her glow long since faded. "This… Aurora, it's all my worst nightmares at once…"

Seeing a moment of weakness in the two girls, Kage grinned maliciously. He began approaching them, claws at the ready to rip them both apart. Before he could get to them, a fist slammed into his face, knocking him into the wall. Hope and Kat jumped, looking up to see Knuckles stand before him.

"You want a fight, Kage, focus on me," the Echidna informed him before turning to Hope and Kat. "Get outta here. I've got this heartless mutt."

Neither of them argued, Kat practically pulling Hope onto her back before retreating, leaving Knuckles to face off against the deranged Dingo.

"What say we take this somewhere else?" Knuckles said as he began climbing up a nearby building. Realizing what he was up to, Kage pressed some buttons on his claw, producing a grappling hook, which he used to go after him.

Upon reaching the top, the two took a moment to stare each other down. Kage grinned wickedly as he thought of the myriad of ways he could butcher the echidna, while Knuckles merely glared at the dingo with tranquil fury.

"You really think you can take me on alone, echidna?" Kage gloated. "Because from what I heard, your last battle against a heavily armed cyborg didn't go so well."

"My last battle against a heavily armed cyborg was underwater and he had a robot octopus backing him up." Knuckles punched into his hand. "You, on the other hand, are just another psychotic wackjob; this'll be a much more even fight." He paused for a moment and smirked. "Actually, since you nearly got your head torn off by my kid sister, it won't be a fight at all!"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Kage shouted as he rushed at Knuckles, who followed suit. The two eventually collided, fists making contact, releasing a shockwave.

Their battle had begun.

Author's Note:

(1): Mobian Chia Pet.

(2): Mobian Super Smash Bros.

(3): Chinese for "fool."

Oh damn! Shit has definitely hit the fan... and there's more to come.

Please R&R. Until next time!