Sonic X: Back To Earth.
Author's Note: After struggling into getting back into the zone with this story with another major long delay, I've finally managed to post a brand new chapter. Again to everybody, I am deeply sorry for the lack of updates and major writer's block throughout the years.
It will continue to happen but I will do my best to continue my stories no matter what.
I own no rights to Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the related media.
The Mutagen Saga.
Chapter 20: Battle of Fate-P1.
Last time, the Sonic Heroes found themselves in a pickle with Team Sonic and Shadow's team battling the Egg Emperor created by the fake Dr. Eggman in a heavy battle. But when things began to look hopeless, Sonic and his friends have faced the odds and finally defeated their enemy.
Meanwhile, the teams of Amy, Chris and Vector soon discover that the President has been rescued and the GUN that cornered them were actually on the fleet to rescue the prisoners, but they soon discover that the client the Chaotix were contact with was the real Dr. Eggman, who was imprisoned by Dr. Kai Narasu.
But when the heroes all rejoined and Narasu reveals to be the Eggman imposter, and what his evil plots originally were. To make things worse, Vector's cure from the original Mutagen was only temporarely and now it has mixed with the new version of it, which has caused him to once again transform into a giant monster and forcing everybody else to evacuate, now under Narasu's control with time running out!
Will our heroes be able to save their friend and the two worlds? Or is all hope lost?
It was happening all too quickly. The storm raged across the region of Station Square and all of the places that appeared from Sonic's world and merged with parts of Earth, blackened clouds like a shroud of darkness threatening to swallow everything whole, roars and booms of thunder echoing as though a massive monster had arrived to slay all, increasing rapidly that Earth-animals were continuing to mutate, people were de-aging by nine years, all gazing in horror at themselves, their bodies shrinking or time-clocking backwards from their true age, every person, human and Mobian alike, were all staring up at the sky in terror, etched in their faces and deep within their hearts. Wondering if the end was among them.
Even the newly freed President was witnessing the whole thing on the news, sweat forming on his head as he grimaced over the situation which was getting worse by the second.
But it was whole lot more horrible where Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Chris, Team Dark, Espio, Charmy, Topaz, Dr. Eggman, Decoe, Bocoe and Bokkun were at as they all continued to gaze in horror over the mind-controlled growth of Vector the Crocodile, with the evil Dr. Narasu now hovering above the giant detective, laughing manically. By then, the winds were picking up badly even on ground level as though a hurricane was coming.
"This is a disaster!" Eggman wailed, his hands on his head as he quickly began to feel hopelessness and despair wash over him.
"The Mutagen has taken over Vector completely!" Cosmo exclaimed in dismay, her heart freezing up in fear, while she and Amy both held a terrified Cream and Cheese in their arms with Francies doing the same.
"We can't just give up on Vector! We're gonna save him!" Sonic declared, refusing to allow one of his friends to be lost again. While he grudgingly admitted that Vector was delusional at times and pretty bossy, the crocodile detective did prove himself to be a worthy ally and friend, especially the times when he and his team helped out a lot.
"There's got to be a way to free Vector from the Mutagen!" Chris agreed, trying hard to think of a solution to cure the green crocodile.
Eggman quickly gazed at the young de-aged boy and the blue hedgehog, sarcastically questioning. "And how do you supposed to do that? Giant painkillers?"
"Butt out, Eggman!" The cobalt speedster grunted, glaring at his long-time enemy. "We'll think of something and then I'll focus on saving the two worlds, in the most difficult decision-way to go!"
"Vector has fallen victim to the Mutagen, especially when it's fused with the original prototype in his system." Shadow pointed out, shaking his head.
Sonic now turned his attention to his rival. "I don't care! We've lost Cosmo once, we all thought you died-twice I should add-I'm not gonna let anymore people, especially my friends, be lost again!"
He then lowered his gaze, becoming a little shaken as memories of how all of this unfolded to begin with, his heart feeling as though it was being squeezed tightly. "This is all my fault. This whole disaster would've been avoided if I had been more careful when Eggman kidnapped Cream and Cheese and stole the Chaos Emeralds in the first place."
"Sonic, don't say that!" Tails protested, hurriedly holding the blue hedgehog's arm. "You can't blame yourself for everything that's happened: It's like Rusca said, it was done at the time he split the plant apart because he and his master were part of the Marasian history!"
"What difference does it make!?" Sonic found himself snapping, and recoiled when he saw his best friend/little brother rear back slightly, before the blue hedgehog lowered his gaze in shame. "I'm sorry, Tails...It's just..."
He looked away, squeezing his eyes shut. "I...I want to save everybody, I want to protect you guys...But to change history and even though I have to make the choice in rearranging Earth's just so we won't age by nine years...and now Vector's under Narasu's Mutagen control...! It's just not right!"
"We'll save Vector, there's got to be a way to fix all of this!" Chris exclaimed, bending down and placed both hands on his hedgehog best friend's shoulders, making the latter glance up at him and the de-aged boy's heart cracked when he saw his emerald eyes shine with tears. "It's not your fault, Sonic. If anything, I'm to blame for having Narasu for using the Porthole I should've destroyed the moment I got back home three years ago. I'm sorry...I'm sorry for putting you and everybody else through this..."
Lowering his gaze, the young Thorndyke struggled to hold back his tears. "It's my selfishness that got us into this mess...I ruined everybody's lives...even yours." He then returned it to the heart-broken Sonic. "But that doesn't mean you should give up, and I'm not giving up on Vector either!"
"Neither are we, Sonic!" Tails quickly added, tearfully sniffling. "We came too far to give up now and we're all in this together, just like we always are!"
"He's right," Knuckles agreed, stepping up to the cobalt speedster's other side, smirking at Sonic's surprised wide-eyed gaze. "That guy may be an idiot, but not even he deserves something like this. So count me in. We're in this 'til the very end."
"Vector is our friend, and we want to help save him too." Cream agreed bravely, with Cheese chirping with his arms raised in determination.
"All we need to do is knock sense back into Vector's head and everything should be fine! This is nothing compared to the Metarex!" Amy confidently smirked, her Piko Piko Hammer resting on her shoulder.
"We can all help, no matter what it takes!" Cosmo stepped up as well, not wishing this sort of thing on anybody.
"Let's all go save Vector and the world!" Frances cheered bravely.
"Yeah!" Danny agreed, smirking.
"...Fine, then I suppose we'll distract him until we figure out what to do." Shadow sighed, knowing that everybody else(except for Eggman and his robots, but they didn't count) were determined to save the green crocodile's life as well as the both worlds.
"Vector may be bossy, but it wouldn't be fun without him around!" Charmy cheered, which earned slight sweat drops from the rest of the heroes, but then they decided to ignore that comment.
"Agreed. Narasu has gone too far and we will not lose Vector to that evil tyrannt." Espio agreed firmly, glaring up at the hovering mutated scientist who was the cause for all of this to begin with. "He will pay for what he has done to our friend...!"
"I'm more than willing in taking that creep out!" Rouge smirked slyly.
"So will I!" Topaz agreed.
"Affirmative! New Objective installed: Save Vector the Crocodile and eliminate Dr. Kai Narasu!" Omega raised an robotic arm to join his new allies.
"Guys..." Sonic whispered, before smiling emotionally even though he tried to hold it back. There were so many things he wanted to stay to his friends, who for as long as he could remember, stuck by his side through thick and thin. But now wasn't the time for being all mushy, yet he did manage to say. "...Thanks, you guys. You're the best."
Most of them all smiled over the blue hedgehog's whispered yet deep gratitude, while Omega stood with no emotions and Shadow just scoffed, while Eggman looked irked, but his robots looked rather touched. Decoe and Bocoe both emotionally cooed, "Awwww!" and Bokkun tried not to let it get to him, but then he wailed loudly.
Sonic then wiped his eyes to dry his tears before smirking confidently. "Okay! Let's do this!"
"YEAH!" The rest of his friends except for Shadow, Espio and Omega, all followed Sonic's lead by thrusting their fists upward.
"It would work," Eggman, unfortunately, broke the determination party which got the Sonic Heroes to snap their attention to the evil scientist who was also responsible for this mess. "If we had the Chaos Emeralds to not only figure out how to stop the destruction of everything, but also to, potentially, cure that giant crocodile friend of yours."
Upon hearing this, Tails' blue eyes widened in realization as he remembered something greatly important. "Of course! The Chaos Emeralds! They can cure darkness from many, like how Sonic did with Chaos!"
"And it's a good thing we all have 'em!" Sonic grinned, pulling out his Cyan Chaos Emerald, with seven of his friends and allies following suit, Shadow's green, Tails holding the red, Amy bringing fourth the blue, Cream holding the yellow in both hands, her smile bright and sweet as ice cream, Espio pulling forth the purple, and Chris holding out the white Emerald.
The blue hedgehog chuckled, his grin morphing into a smug smirk at the flabbergasted expression on his arch-rival's face, the evil scientist nearly spluttering words like garbled gibberish. "Thanks for giving a major helpful hint, Eggman."
"...Oooh...Of course you'd all find them." Eggman slumped with a groan and a sweat drop, while his three dumbot minions stared in muted silence.
"Whoa! Incoming!" Danny shouted in alarm.
"Huh!?" Sonic and the rest of the group whirled around to find, to their horror, the giant Vector now leering at them and Narasu laughing manically.
"I think that is quite enough of your chit-chat! This time, you animals and traitors of humanity are through!" The evil scientist cackled.
Chris narrowed his eyes angrily, clutching his fist as he and everybody else quickly prepared themselves. "You're the one who's betrayed humanity, Narasu! You just let science go over your head and terrible experiments consume you!"
Narasu grinned, ignoring the young Thorndyke and held up his hand with the jewel which glowed, unaware that Tails blinked when he saw what was happening. "Now, my Vector! Destroy those creatures and fools! Give them the full extent of your power!"
Vector's eyes glowed red as he loud a might roar and reflexed his arms, before stomping towards the heroes and the other villains, some of them quickly becoming scared that this might be the end of them.
"Here we go!" Sonic narrowed his eyes, as he and his friends and allies readied themselves to try and save Vector, before he, his team and the other teams left the bewildered Eggman's group behind as they all charged.
"You're nuts! You're all just going into your own graves at this rate!" Eggman exclaimed, bewildered.
"Not unless Sonic goes super in this battle!" Bocoe insisted optimistically.
"Go Sonic Heroes! Go Sonic Heroes!" Decoe cheered on, pulling out Cheer-Leading fans from out of nowhere and waved them encouragingly.
"Whose side are you on?" Bokkun asked, skeptically. He then gazed at Cream's retreating form and couldn't help but softly moan worriedly. 'I sure hope Cream will be okay.'
The giant crocodile's eyes leered upon the approaching heroes before he growled and held up a fist to squash them flat like pancakes.
"Vector! You don't have to do this! We're all here to save you!" Sonic shouted loudly the moment he, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cosmo, Cream and Cheese, Chris, Danny, Frances, Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Topaz, Espio and Charmy all stopped in front of their transformed friend.
"We don't want to fight you, but you don't have to fight us either!" Chris added as loudly as he could.
"Yeah, don't let that Narasu creep boss you around!" Charmy encouraged bravely.
"Everything's gonna be okay!" Tails cried out.
"He can no longer hear your voices! That brute is under MY control now!" Narasu taunted, before once more turning to his new minion. "Get them!"
Vector, against his will, thrust his fist straight towards the heroes who all gasped and quickly dodged in whatever way possible to avoid in getting crushed. But the impact of the punch still created a shock-wave which sent Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Chris, Team Dark and two of the Chaotix sent flying slightly in different directions as they all screamed, hit by the attack. They crashed onto the ground even though Sonic and Amy both did their best to shield Tails, Cream and Cheese while Espio held a horrified Charmy close to his chest, and Omega was suffering a slight malfunction.
"That's it! Now, see if we can all cook them up!" Narasu commanded, the gem in his hand glowing more brightly now.
Unable to free himself from the mind control, the giant crocodile roared before he unleashed another flame of fire right towards the group, but they all moved even further away to avoid in getting scorched. However, the heat nearly licked them and Shadow even risked in using Chaos Spear to block most of the fire while Omega used his laser beam to do the same. Rouge even attempted to flap her wings to drive it back. Amy and Cosmo, who shivered at the intense heat, pulled Cream and Cheese out of the way, while Espio, gasping, leaped back with the shocked bee child in his arms, and the humans quickly getting up to avoidt he attack.
Sonic, nearly screaming when he and his best friend/little brother saw what was happening, pulled the latter tighter in his attempts to protect the two-tailed fox cub. The blue hedgehog winced as he held a slightly injured Tails close to him before realizing he wasn't feeling as much pain as he should, and opened one eye while looking over his shoulder, gasping in horror to see Knuckles using himself to shield both of them from the blast. The red echidna gritted his teeth as his back was uncomfortably but slightly burned by the fire.
"Knuckles!" Sonic, and Tails who also noticed, screamed out in dismay.
Thankfully, the flames stopped and the Master Emerald Guardian panted, feeling all hot and sweaty but thankfully not losing even a single strain of his body's fur, but he did slump none the less.
"Knux, are you okay?" Sonic asked fearfully, sitting up slightly while Tails reached out and gently placed a hand onto their older friend's arm.
"You're not hurt, are you?" The young kit worriedly questioned.
"Ngh...I'm...gonna be...f-fine." Knuckles winced, yet he managed to smirk reassuringly at his younger friends. "What would you guys...do without me?"
The blue hedgehog's heart swelled with guilt, but he felt so relieved that his friendly rival was alright as he smiled emotionally. "Thanks, Knuckles. I owe ya' big time."
"Me too. But we'll worry about that later. Right now, we gotta somehow get Vector back to normal!" Tails quickly reminded, and his two older friends nodded in agreement.
From where Team Chris were, the de-aged Thorndyke slowly pushed himself up, asking half-weakly to his childhood friends. "A-Are you guys alright there?"
"Think so." Danny rubbed the back of his head.
"Never been better, I guess." Frances murmured, panting a little.
Soon everyone began to slowly recover as Sonic helped Knuckles up, the latter's arm around the cobalt teenager's shoulders. "Okay, new plan. First we gotta figure out how to distract Vec' before he toasts us like Marshmallows."
"Element of surprise?" The red echidna questioned.
"I was gonna say the true power of team work with all of us, but that works too."
"I don't wanna hurt Vector, but at this point there may be no other choice left!" Chris exclaimed as he and the rest of the heroes including Topaz rejoined Team Sonic's side. They all seemed to be winded down a little from the attacks, but none of them seem to be heavily injured.
"My team and I will go up front while you three distract him, Sonic," Shadow instructed as an idea already formed in his mind, turning to each teams with Sonic's being the last. "Amy, you and your group will surprise the crocodile to the left, while Christopher's group will go from behind, and Espio and Charmy will take the right. Once we knock him over, the three of you go for the head and see if you can get his senses."
"Got it!" Sonic gave his black and red rival a thumbs up, agreeing with the plan. He then turned with pure desire to set things right to glare at Narasu who grinned confidently. "Let's show this creep that humans and Mobians can live together in peace-except for guys like Eggman-and the real power of our friendship!"
The other teams agreed as they all then spread out while attempting to distract Vector and Narasu who then slightly frowned, wondering what the heroes were going to do.
Amy, Cosmo, Cream and Cheese hurried to the left side of Vector as silently as possible, the young rabbit girl carrying her two older friends as high as possible without the giant crocodile noticing them.
"I sure hope we can save Vector." Cream whispered worriedly, Cheese chirping in concern.
"We have to, or else we will lose a friend and the whole two worlds!" Cosmo reminded urgently.
Amy narrowed her eyes with fiery determination. "Sonic and the others are counting on us to help Vector, and that's what we're gonna do! Then when he's turned back to normal, I'm gonna give that Narasu creep a piece of my mind!"
Back on the ground, both Team Sonic and Team Dark stood ready as the blue hedgehog leader narrowed his eyes, before whistling loudly to get the giant Detective's attention.
"Hey, Vector!" Sonic called out, clapping his hands which caught Vector's attention, the latter growling with a glare. The blue hedgehog smirked while Tails and Knuckles stood ready. "Nice flamethrower and punch back there, but you were kinda too slow! How 'bout speeding up a little, huh?"
"We're supposed to distract Vector, not insult him!" Knuckles gritted in frustrated reminder.
"He's right, Sonic! You will please focus?" Tails agreed, as much as he didn't want to hurt his best friend's/big brother's feelings.
Sonic shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, can't help it."
The trio and Team Dark, with Shadow sighing in exasperation and Rouge shrugging while Omega muttering something about, 'I believe this requires as a logical distraction', the giant crocodile growled before stomping to attack again. The six of them quickly split into two groups and just in time, Tails carried Sonic and Knuckles high up into the air with Rouge doing the same for Shadow and Omega, all managing to avoid their giant friend's attack while the other teams made sure to dodge it as well.
"That's a bit more like it, big guy! Think of this as part of training and you'll be faster in no time!" Sonic laughed with half-encouragement, even though he and his friends yelped and cried out in alarm when Vector, growling in mind-controlled anger, attempted to swipe and grab them. Tails was having trouble keeping his teenage friends afloat as much as possible.
Rouge was doing the same as she and her companions were trying not to get captured as well, before Shadow purposely launched another Chaos Spear yet for the sake of his former enemies, he missed which was meant to keep Vector and Narasu from seeing their real plan.
But Vector wasn't done yet, as he made to punch at Team Dark who were forced to once again jump out of the way right as Omega aimed his laser cannon close to the giant crocodile's head. However, the robot's real target was Nasaru who, was cheering on for his 'slave's' near succession in having a bigger(figuretively speaking) advantage over the Sonic Heroes, saw this and let out a high-pitched squeal. He narrowly managed to avoid in getting hit by the former bad robot's attack before he grunted angrily.
"How dare you open fire at me, robot!? You nearly vaporized me!" The evil scientist exclaimed, waving an angry fist.
"It was my intention to open fire at you, Dr. Nasaru! You are the enemy of all including Dr. Eggman whom I intent to eliminate once you are destroyed," Omega responded, his optic sensors brightening up a bit as though he was sending out a glare to the mutated human. "This is your final failed attempts and you shall not escape this time!"
"Bah! What a load of nonsense! You're a robot, you were programmed to be controlled. What, do you have an Artificial Intelligence or something?" Nasaru scoffed, folding his arms after regaining his balance in midair.
Omega didn't get the chance to answer because at Rouge's warning 'Look out!', he was forced to turn and leap away when Vector swung it's massive tail right at not just both of them and Shadow who leaped out of the way, but also to Amy, Cosmo, Cream and Cheese who, attempting to get to their mind-controlled friend's legs, screamed and the youngest of Amy's team grabbed of her two friends before she and Cheese flew back just in time. Topaz attempted to use a tranquilizer, but the impact caused her to be hit back screaming, hitting the ground hard. Espio jumped and, regrettably, tossed his shurikens at the giant detective's tail.
"UGH!" Vector roared in agony when the thankfully non-explosive weapons stuck onto his tail. He stomped around attempting to shake them off as though they were thorns from a bush.
Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the only thing that was getting when it comes to stings, because Charmy used this distraction to fly up as fast as he could. He felt very awful for having to do this to his boss, his heart sinking with a whimper that they were fighting Vector, but the youngest Detective knew they had to do everything they could to save the green crocodile.
"Bee Sting coming through!" Charmy exclaimed, bomb-diving with his stinger aimed directly at...Vector's upper tail where the original Mutagen dart once it him ages ago. Though compared to how big Vector was now, the Mobian bee was no bigger than an Earth bee to him.
It felt more like a tiny prick, but it still hurt enough for Vector to flinch and jumped while holding onto where he was stung while accidentally flinging Charmy away. The latter cried out in alarm as he spun in a futile attempt to regain his position. Vector screamed and yelped in pain, yet as he was hopping up and down, the impact was causing the earth to shake and making the other heroes having trouble to keep their balance. Those in the air gasped in horror before Team Sonic shared another glance with a determined nod, coming up with the same idea.
"Tails!" Sonic called out, his eyes silently translating the plan into his little brother's as well as Knuckles who, a bit slower to catch on, took the hint.
"Got it! Hang on!" The two-tailed fox cub nodded, flying as high as he could while Omega kept Nasaru busy.
Once they were close enough as Chris, Frances and Danny disecreetly ran around to the back of the giant crocodile who recovered while glaring heatedly at Charmy who was caught by Espio, Knuckles swung Sonic around repeatedly until he let go, with the younger teen quickly spinning attacked at Vector's chest and underneath his chin to keep him distracted. The mutated detective grunted, nearly stumbling back while the three de-aged humans continued to run while making sure they wouldn't get caught or squashed on by their friend.
"Alright, guys! You know what to do!" Chris half-whispered, purely determined to set things right and help to save Vector once and for all. "Once Vector's knocked down, that's when Sonic and the others will try and get him to his senses, so make it count!"
"Got it!" Danny nodded, his Nun-Chucks ready.
"Okay!" Frances added with a determined smirk and thumbs up.
In the meantime, Omega shifted his focus onto Nasaru who yelped and squeaked in clumsy attempts to avoid in getting vaporized or turned into a human Swiss cheese that the evil mutated scientist couldn't keep his focus on the rest of Sonic's friends or give out any more orders to the brain-washed Vector who was still mindlessly attempting to crush the heroes into oblivion.
Rouge then flew up higher to use her Screw Kick at Vector's muzzle, but was shocked for a split second that the giant crocodile caught sight of the bat before whacking her hard to the side. She screamed in agony while falling straight towards the ground even though he then reached out to capture her.
"Rouge!" Topaz shouted in dismay, seeing what was about to happen to her former partner and admittedly close friend.
"Hey, don't do that!" Amy shouted, signaling Cream to carry her and Cosmo higher, and once they were, the pink hedgehog used her free hand to summon another hammer before tossing it right at the mutagen-formed detective's hand.
It hit the mark, causing Vector to grunt in annoyance at Team Rose, just as Shadow, seeing the white bat descending and unable to regain her flight position, skated as fast as he could, admittedly horrified to see his friend about to crash. The black hedgehog made a daring leap far more than what Sonic is capable of doing, catching Rouge into his arms before landing safely.
"You really need to stop depending on others to save you." Shadow grumbled in annoyance, to hide the fact he had been concerned for one of his teammate's welfare.
"Only if you stop being the dashing hero, hon." Rouge smirked slyly in a teasing manner. She was grateful for her friend and Amy for saving her life again. Not that she really needed it.
Team Chris in the meantime finally managed to make it around behind Vector, clubs, Nun-Chucks and Grapple Hooks all ready to try and knock out their giant transformed friend in hopes of avoiding in getting much into much devastating trouble than they and everybody else already were.
"Here it comes! Haaaaa!" Frances withdrew her arm back, twirling her Nun-chuck like a lasso, despite not having the same physical strength as some of her friends, but is a pretty good thrower, tossing her weapon in a way of a Frisbee, the loud whoosh and repelling like helicopter blades aiming a perfect hit on the back of Vector's head.
The giant mutant-controlled crocodile grunted, his eyes squeezed tightly at the dull pain of the weapon's hit, as though he had been smacked by a metal pole, the stinging ache rendering him unfocused upon his opponents and targets.
"Here we go!" Chris and Danny both charged, the legs carrying them as fast as they could allow, their Grapple Hooks shot directly at both Vector's arms, the hooks and lines gripping like fishing hooks, letting themselves off the ground and pulled straight up to their giant friend's head.
"HUH?" Vector blinked, attempting to tilt his head back to see who had gripped him, only for a high-pitched whistle to screech through the air, his gaze shifting to his front where Tails held Sonic who whistled, and Knuckles above his head.
"Eyes up front, Vector!" Knuckles called out, his hand gripped onto Sonic's.
"Ready! GO!" Sonic shouted.
Tails, his heart racing a thousand beats like a jet engine powering a formula race car, his grip on Knuckles' other hand, anxiety and adrenaline coursing through his veins, squeezed his eyes shut with prayers and hope, spun horizontally twice in a mid-air flip, before the echidna tossing the blue hedgehog as the cobalt hero spun Attacked in a tight curl, the powerful collision into his chest combined with Chris and Danny stretching their legs for a hard kick in the same area the Nun-chuck hit. Pain, electrical-like and nearly purging some air out of his lungs like deflation of balloons, Vector roared in agony, stumbling back and forth, the quakes on the ground rocking the earth.
"GAH! Watch where you are all fighting!" Eggman yelped, struggling to keep his balance, one leg wobbling in stress to hold his round frame, his three robotic minions yelping for dear hard-drives, Decoe and Bocoe linking their arms for protective embrace.
"This would have been a lot easier and safer if Vector was a normal sized crocodile!" Decoe wailed, his mechanical heart freezing as cold as a malfunctioned refrigerator over-cooling it's contents and freezing ice cream into an ice block...Literally.
Back up in the air, Cream, her smaller size strained in carrying both Amy and Cosmo for three days, flapped her ears for as high to reach Vector's current height, the giant detective distracted by the rest of the Sonic Heroes, air and ground teams keeping him and the frantic and furious Narasu from detecting them, Cheese's little stumpy arms holding her shoulder for dear life, all four of them holding strong determination expressions, hearts pounding like a set of kongo drums.
"Ready, girls and Cheese? On my mark!" Amy declared, her knuckles turning white, fist shaking on the grip of her hammer, and her jade green eyes flaring with undaunted courage. Memories of Sonic's encouraging words echoed within her mind, a reminder of her own strength she understated for years. 'I won't let you down, Sonic. When this is over, I'll get stronger, for each of us, for our friends...and for our worlds!'
"We have to hurry! Our friends may not be able to distract him much longer!" Cosmo's cries reached her two friends' ears, their attention drawn closely to Vector's expression shifting to mindless anger and frustration.
"Right!" The pink hedgehog nodded, her gaze shifting to the youngest of her team. "Cream, think you can throw us closer?"
"I can try. I don't want to hurt Vector, but we have to help him!" Cream nodded, her cute, honey eyes narrowed, the growing courage embracing and granting her the gift to help her friends, Cheese's cries of determination echoing, the little Chao lifting an arm bravely.
"Don't just stand there, you overgrown lizard! Get those miscreants!" Narasu snarled, a childish rant and pout showcased with a curled form and clutched fists. Things were not going the way he wanted. He thrust his palm out, the red gem deeply imprinted glowing under his control.
Yet the gleam from the gem caught the attention of Chris, Charmy and Bokkun, the three unknowingly shifting their gaze swiftly towards Narasu, and while the young bee blinked, confused, and young Thorndyke's mind raced, vague memories racing around his mind, importance of the gem desperately attempting to break through the block, and the messenger robot's A.I soon calculated everything he has known, his optic lenses widening with realization soon overriding his system.
The red gleam of the Mutagen's possession brightened, Vector unleashing a mighty roar, his fists tightened, tail swishing, his free will no longer his own, aiming a punch at the heroes close by. Team Sonic, cries of alarm, with Knuckles and Tails having caught Sonic again earlier, nearly lost altitude when their giant friend's fist nearly pummeled them.
"Incoming!" Rouge shouted, heaving hard, her breath wheezed and her lungs heating, pulling Shadow and Omega further back, avoiding Vector's tail.
"Look out!" Topaz screamed, she, Espio and Charmy, the youngest detective yelping with fright, leaping back to avoid their giant detective friend's foot that stomped, shock waves rocking the land in impact.
"Get back!" Danny exclaimed, he, Chris and Frances retreating, rolling out of the way as another swish of the tail missed them by inches of their hair.
"Okay, now I'm really mad!" Amy growled. "Cream!"
"Okay! Hold on!" The young rabbit girl squeezed her eyes shut, her arms shaking with the weight and strain of carrying, her high screams echoing through the darkness of the night, lightning strikes flashing, brightening the battlefield in a light-blue hue for a brief moment.
She then tossed Amy and Cosmo towards the giant Vector, who failed to catch sight of the two girls, turned too late as Amy Rose, her battle cries loud of determination, thrust her Piko Piko Hammer with all her strength, tossing it like a boomerang, twirling in a loud and low whipping like a lasso, directy at the detective's left eye. He roared in agony, both hands flying over his bruised eyeball, the unbearable ache throbbing and blinking him.
Cosmo, who along with the rest of the Sonic Heroes and even Eggman and his cohorts all winched and grimaced, sympathy shared across them all, Sonic letting out a strained and slightly high-pitched, 'Oh, ow...', twirled in a delicate manner of a Ballerina, her skirt spread and white like a beautiful dance of flower petals, her leg stretched into kicking Vector on the forehead, right before Cream descended, catching her and Amy while descending to the ground below.
Yet, as the Sonic Heroes regrouped quickly, forming a circle close to Eggman's group, all could see that despite their efforts and the heroes rising guilt like flood water's increasing it's threat, Vector's senses still remained under Narasu's control, the evil mutated scientist's maniacal laughter filled with victory and insanity, the storm's threat never ceasing.
"Man, no matter how hard we hit, Vector's still not knocked back to normal. You'd think that several bumps on the head would get him to snap out of it!" Sonic panted, fatigue taking hold with his lungs and limbs feeling heavy and stiff as though his muscles had hardened into tight concrete, the air in his body unbearably hot and making it difficult to breathe, sweat bullets slowly trickling down his head.
Judging how his friends and allies looked, their own breathing heavy, wheezed and deep, some baring injuries worse than the others, they were unfortunately not bearing any better themselves.
"As long as he has the mutagen within his body, I don't think Vector will regain his senses until we destroy it." Shadow theorized.
"Hate to say it, Sonic, but he's right," Tails reluctantly agreed, concern and fear mixing in his expression, his sapphire eyes sparking with a grim reality sinking in. "Narasu is the one controlling all of the mutagen-affected people and animals including our friend, and I'm not sure how we can free them without hurting them."
"There's gotta be a way to save him somehow!" Knuckles grunted, his fist clutched tightly with frustration.
"Wasn't there something about Narasu controlling the Mutagen?" Amy asked, unease gripping her bones. "There's gotta a connection in there somewhere!"
It was then Espio recalled what the real Eggman, the unindentified client at the time, warned him, Vector and Charmy during their mission: The mysterious gem controlling all affected by the Mutagen, mainly the mutated Earth animals...
"The gem within Narasu's palm..." Espio's gaze sharply shifted to Eggman. "You saw that gem he possesses, and knew it was the key in controlling the fog and all those non-human under his will, correct?"
Everyone's attentions snapped to their common enemy, who's mustache bristled, the reminder of the mastermind conducting everything prior to the return to Earth. "Yes, and as long as he possesses that gem, that overgrown alligator and all the animals on this planet will be bound to his command."
"So if we somehow remove or destroy the gem, it'll free Vector," Chris' eyes widened, his, and unbeknownst to him, Charmy and Bokkun's, gaze turned to the evil maniac hovering above.
"It's on his left palm!" The trio simultaneously pointed, allowing their friends and enemies to see, all collectively coming to the same realization.
"Great spotting! So all we gotta do is remove that red rock of his and save Vector and the worlds," Sonic smirked, relief and hope sparkling in his eyes, which soon shifted to the good robot on their team. "Yo, Omega! Can ya' see that being the main power core to what's goin' on?"
"Affirmative. The mutagen symptoms are implanted and fused with that Meatbag's nervous system, containing major output and 88% of the Mutagen, particles controlled by the mind of 100%." Omega's sensors, ensuring himself of his correct calculations and database, scanned Narasu's body fracture.
"What we need to do is distract Vector and get to Narasu, fast, before it's too late! We don't have much time left!" Topaz informed, her gaze cast upon the storm and the shift of the fuse in the darkened sky above.
"Maybe I can warn him not to do anything or else I'll sting him," Charmy raised a hand voluntarily, the group collectively blinking. He giggled, mischievously. "He's pretty much allergic to bees, so he's scared of me."
"I'm glad that I'm not..." Eggman murmured, wincing on the painful faints of the Mobian Bee's stings.
Sonic thrust a fist into his palm, determination dancing across his features. "Okay! Let's do this! Amy, you, the girls, Cheese, and Charmy grab hold of Narasu! The rest of us will keep Vector busy!"
Amy nodded, determination flashing like an angel's light breaking through the thick shields of the dark clouds, whipping her hammer with a twirl, the handle dancing along her fingers. "You can count on us, Sonic!"
"Incoming!" Chris's cries of warning collectively snapped everyone's attentions to where he was pointing, frantic and alarm having their hearts stopping as the corrupted giant Vector drew his head back once more, another Fire-Breath with the air inhaled to unleash its wrath.
"Watch out!" Sonic screamed, both hands simultaneously gripping hard on Tails and Amy's free wrists, Knuckles plucking Cosmo, Cream and Cheese in his arms, leaping out of the way alongside their friends and enemies.
The powerful, meteorite sized ball of fire as though the sun was unleashing its wrath of solar flares capable of burning Earth and soil was blasted out, impacting the ground with a powerful shock-wave that sent everyone off their feet, screams filling the air as they all hit the dirt and rocks painfully, Sonic and some of his friends rolling to a stop, dust flying everywhere, air suddenly burst out of their lungs like a vacuum cleaner sucking them. The blue hedgehog and the red echidna did their best to soften Team Rose's landing, their arms wrapped tightly around their bodies, shielding them from the impact.
Omega unfortunately ended up hitting a larger rock, its carved, sharpened end thrusting into his waist, sparks and wiring spilling out, his red lenses flashing, vision becoming static and fizzed, alarm bells blaring in his A.I mechanical speakers.
"Warning! Severe damage to unit system!" Omega shouted, his automatic warning system kicking in. "Critical Impact! Activating back-up generator!"
"Omega!" Sonic, Tails, Amy, Rouge and Chris all collectively screamed, eyes widened in horror to see the former bad suffer major damage.
Even Shadow couldn't mask the glint of shock and horror to see one of his team mate's suffer injury, or in the robot's case, damage. His heart stopped for a second, the chilling grip of fear like a giant ice monster holding him within its grasp made him unable to move for a brief second. Flashes of his memories clouded his vision, his mind blurred of the terrible memories plunging him into the ocean of despair and grief, the sight of Maria's death returning as though he was reliving his tragic past all over again.
"Oh no! Omega's hurt!" Cream screamed, horrified.
"Chao! Chao!" Cheese squeaked, his tiny little but pure heart breaking into two.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Narasu bellowed, his twisted grin never ceasing, his expression morphing into the twisted evil of a monster, his eyes glinting with darkness, pupils shrinking of a man losing his sanity entirely. "You fools cannot simply hope to save your friend or this world or even your own! Soon you will all die, and I will rule supreme, erasing every weak, little life with all of my Mutagen Army! Maybe I'll even conquer the whole universe and prove that humanity will always be the dominant species!"
Hearing his declaration, Sonic's fist clenched tightly to prevent it from shaking. He was growing sick and tired of Narasu's cruelty, how he threatened to take over the world, losing his mind over nearly a decade(not even a year in Mobius time), hurting his friends brought back terrifying memories of Black Naccissis hurting Chris and Cosmo just to force the blue hedgehog to test his experiments with the fake Chaos Emeralds.
Sonic's eyes soon widened from within, a soft gasp escaping his mouth. His anger near instantly switched to fear like a light switch flicked on or off: Once more, he could see himself as Dark Super Sonic, manically destroying the robots and nearly taking out the monster that hurt his loved ones, a part of the Metarex aiming to conquer the whole universe and he would have unleashed the great darkness and cause the great evil from eons ago to be reborn had it not been for Dr. Eggman's interference.
'NO! I've gotta focus! I won't let my anger turn me dark again!' Desperately shaking his head, his heart racing through adrenaline of fear and pushing his fury aside, especially with all of the Chaos Emeralds surrounding him, one in his possession, the others with Tails, Amy, Cream, Espio, Shadow and Chris, Sonic pushed himself up after stepping back, relief washing over him to find his little brother and self-proclaimed girlfriend being alright.
The blue blur soon dashed towards the giant detective, his legs becoming a red blur, determination washing over to begin the plan. "Sorry, Vector! We'll make up all of the medical bills for all your bruises and flu!"
Curling up tightly once more, Sonic spun up for another series of Homing Attacks, his sharpened quills bashing against his friend's chest, the scales not able withstand the hedgehog. Vector roared in agony as though he was hit multiple times by a ball made of catus, his balance wobbily in a clumsy manner, while the blue hero firmly planted the soles of his shoes to catapault himself away, springing himself in an aerial display of an athlete.
Shadow, being amonst those to also recover quickly, repeated Sonic's method, flipping aside when the giant crocodile, uncontrollable fury under Narasu's command, thrust his fist to punch him away, only to meet Knuckles' rapid of punches, in the lightning speed mixture of Sonic's as well as that of a champion boxer.
"UGH!" Vector howled, his free hand clutching his wrist, his hand swollen of unbearable heat of pain. Snarling with anger, seeing the blue hedgehog about to land where the rest of his friends prepared to continue with the plan, released his grip, thrusting his uninjured fist in a lightning reflex at both Shadow and Knuckles, the two flown back and caught off-guard, their screams of pain muted by the rage of the storm before they screeched against the ground, dirt and gravel painfully gritting against their bodies.
"KNUX! SHADOW!" Sonic screamed, only to see Vector's opened palm reached towards them in frightfully speed.
"LOOK OUT!" Decoe screamed, frantically pointing.
Wasting no time upon landing, his friends unable to move in time as the plan was already beginning to fail, Sonic pushed as many as his friends as possible out of the way. The cobalt teenager ignored the others cries of shock and bewilderment, Amy hitting hard on the ground, wincing with her hands supporting her as she sat up, her own scream caught in her throat, her heart also blocked from escaping as all she and the others could do was watch helplessly just as Sonic was once more clasped in the semi-trailer-like grasp of Vector's giant hand.
"GAH!" Sonic's pained cries filled the violent storm's air, gripped like a squeaky toy within his crocodile friend's hand that soon was brought upward. The blue hedgehog wriggled and squirmed, every single bone within his body creaked and slowly crushed of discomfort, unable to even maneuver his arms free.
"NOOOOOO!" Amy screamed, helplessly reaching out for her 'boyfriend', tears leaking free at the horrific scene of history's repeat playing like a VHS cruely showing her worst nightmare all over again. "SOOOONNNIIIICCC!"
"Sonic! NO!" Chris exclaimed, his legs carrying him without his mind's constentant, hands as though on autopilot for his Grapple Hooks. Tails' screams for Sonic followed, the two-tailed fox lifting himself airborne, and Knuckles's feet swiftly padding the ground with a trail of dust in his wake.
"Ugh! V-Vector!" Sonic grunted, desperation taking hold of his soul, his pleading eyes cast upon his corrupted friend. "Let me go! You can't just let-GAH!-let Narasu take control of you! Fight it, man! Fight the Mutagen! We're here to save you!"
"Mwahahahahahaha! It's too late, you fool! Your friend is under my control, as I have waned you! Now all of you animals will cease to be and the Earth and the Universe are mine to control!" Narasu mellowed, laughter spreading in a symphony like a dance of dark Lightning, actual flashes of the bolts themselves briefly engulfing the sky as though summoned by his dark will. "Crocodile! Finish off that miscreant of a hedgehog! Heheheheh...It's past your dinner time!"
The words of his evil command cast a horrific collective gasp among the heroes and their enemies alike, like a hurricane wrecking everything in its path, eyes swift towards Vector, whose eyes gleamed a bright red once more, soon drawing the panicking hedgehog close to his snout. Sonic's heart froze in an ice-like grip once more, his voice shaky of fear, memories of Dark Oak swallowing him whole and all of his nightmares flashing before his eyes.
Whimpers soon squeaked out of his throat, his nightmares made a reality once more, panic gripped his chest, threatening to close his throat, his struggles to pry himself free soon becoming more frantic.
"NO! Vector, don't eat me!" Sonic pleaded, no longer able to mask his true feelings, guilt, fear and sorrow already swallowing him whole, even worse as he would soon become a meal for one of his friends. "I'm sorry! This is...this is all my fault!"
"SONIC!"
The collective cries from three of his best friends reaching his ears, Sonic gazed over his shoulder for his eyes widened with shock to see Tails, Chris and even Knuckles simultaneously reach their friend, flight, hooks and a leap all to fufill their goal, the trio grasp hard onto the hand, struggling to pull open the massive fingers coiling the blue hedgehog like a group of snakes ensnaring their prey.
"Guys!?" Sonic held a mixture of relief, concern and shock across his expression, unable to believe they came to his rescue at the risk of becoming Vector's meal along with him.
"We're not gonna lose you again, Sonic!" Tails declared, determination sweeping over. "We almost did and we're not gonna let that happen or lose Vector either!"
"Vector, please, stop it! If you eat Sonic, you'll only be giving into Narasu's control!" Chris pleaded, he and the others struggling to pull at the massive fingers, desperate to free Sonic.
"You're not gonna do that, are ya'!?" Knuckles shouted.
"Don't listen to that brat and those rodents, you fool! You are a carnivore, and crocodiles eat other living creatures! Devour them to your heart's content!" Narasu encouraged, angrily.
The giant crocodile growled, the silent command etching his freewill, continuing to move Sonic, and now Tails, Chris and Knuckles towards his wide opened maw, the group all setting loose a collective gasp of horror, the massive teeth and giant tongue coming to their view, hearts leaping to their throats, the realism of being devoured by their friend had them all nearly frozen.
Sonic, fear for his friends' safeties echoing throughout his veins and bones, snapped his attention back to the evil madman, a heated glare enough to pierce into Narasu's soul. "Mobians don't eat each other, Narasu! That's cannibalism!"
"Oh, really? Is that your excuse why you raised a fox who are known for eating hedgehogs? Or did you find him when his mother and father seemingly either died or abandoned him, because of his own form of mutation? He is a bigger freak than the rest of you animals are!" The evil man mocked.
Tails' breath let loose a sharp gasp of horror, devastating hurt impaling him like a massive axe, his sapphire eyes quickly leaking with tears with the powerful urge to cry, memories of his earlier childhood before meeting his friends flashing before his eyes. Sonic, Chris, Knuckles, the latter two briefly stopping, and everyone else all collectively holding looks of shock and concern for the two-tailed fox, soon growing to anger on how dare Narasu would say such a thing.
"Shut up! It doesn't work like that in our world! We're more human than you'll ever be!" Sonic snapped, panic continuing to sweep over as he struggled back against his anger. "And Tails is NOT a freak! He's one of the sweetest, modest, caring and bravest guys I've ever met! It never mattered to me on how different we all were on the outside or inside, because the worlds would be too boring if everybody were the same! My friends helped me get this far in all of our adventures, and I don't care if I have to die to save them and the two worlds!"
"Tails is the little brother I never had, Chris too, and he saved my life from drowning, proving that there are humans that are pure hearted as well, he's kind and caring, and has determination that is as strong as I've ever seen. Knuckles may be a knucklehead, but I trust him with my life, his loyalty is never out of question." He continued.
"Hey!" Knuckles grunted upon being called a knucklehead, yet he stopped when Sonic revealed how much he trusted the echidna and his loyalty is still strong despite having been tricked by Eggman time and again.
"We've all had our differences and our lives started out differently, either good or bad, but all of that is what brought us together. Heck, even Vector has a great leadership towards Espio and Charmy. I could tell, because like me and my team, and the other teams in our journeys in the last three days, he's proven to care about them and the rest of us, never giving up despite having been corrupted by the Mutagen twice in a row. His heart is a lot stronger than you think, Narasu!"
"And Cosmo as well, because she once gave up her life to save us because she cared for us and the whole Universe." Sonic felt as though he was raging his thoughts, feelings and pure heart through the air, to set free what he truly believed in.
The more Sonic flowed his words through everyone's ears, all of his friends and trusted allies, all felt the sense of compassion and heartfelts from the teenage hedgehog, each of them having their minds flashing to their pasts, some were good, others began with tragedy, leading to forming as friends together, their adventures and all to where they are today.
Unbeknownst to all, Vector had paused himself, the echoes of Sonic's words ringing within his ears, a swirl of thoughts like a whirlpool of no end flowing in his mind, his hand etched to a stop just below his lower jaw, close to simply gobble up and swallow the four heroes. The crimson and purple glint in his eyes, the control of Narasu's power and Mutagen, soon set off a slow blink of dimming like a light bulb losing its watts in overuse.
It wasn't until Charmy, the young bee inspired with the words flowing through his easily distracted mind like a cereal mixed in with a clock-wise twirl, spoke up, hope swelling in his heart towards his oldest friend.
"Yeah, Vector! You're the one who started the Chaotix Detective Agency, and had you and Espio brought me in!" Charmy's hands cupped around his mouth, his words tingling of desperation. "We solved a lot of cases together, been on a lot of adventures, and you were the one that had the most determination out of the three of us! Are you really gonna let that weirdo Narasu boss you around!?"
"Charmy is right, Vector! Even through mistakes and mishaps, you never truly gave up on the goal, case or otherwise. You are the one who have brought the three of us together, and despite your flaws, you are able to solve the most astonishing mysteries. You were the one who has realized our client was Dr. Eggman all along, and fought against the Mutagen for as long as possible! Do not let the corruption destroy you!" Espio joined in, his golden eyes narrowed of determination, fierce as a true ninja he was.
"You even helped us out when we were stranded on the Metarex planet to get supplies, and helped us out against them!" Chris added, strained against the fingers to pry Sonic free.
"And used your new power to help us find clues!" Sonic continued, wincing from the tightening grip, his eyes trained upon Vector's corrupted gaze. "Come on, man! Please, fight it! Don't let Narasu win!"
"Enough of your chit-chat! There is nothing any of you can do!" Narasu hissed, disgust flowing through his bones, eyes were poisonous to even look upon, so much hatred tainted his soul. "What are you waiting for, crocodile!? Eat them all! NOW!"
The brightness of corruption glinting once more, Vector soon drew Sonic and three of his friends struggling to free him to the maw, saliva dripping from the mouth's ceiling, the uluva taunting the terrified heroes of the entrance of the throat, reckoning them to their doom.
"VECTOR! NO!" Sonic screamed, as his younger brothers and older friend, all eyes widening collectively in panic, renewed their attempts to pull him free.
Amy's cries for Sonic echoed, her jade orbs swimming with tears, her teeth gritted tightly of overwhelming anger, her gaze shifted to the man responsible for this mess. She almost made her hand bleed with the force of her trembling fist.
"THAT DOES IT!" Amy roared, flicking her wrist as her hammer materialized once more, her eyes burning with rage like a set of flames igniting her soul and her love. "Cream, Cosmo, c'mon! We're going through Sonic's plan!"
In spite of the shock radiating through their bodies over Amy's anger, Cream and Cosmo did not question the pink hedgehog. Instead, quickly exchanging a worried but determined glance and a nod, the two hurried to formate their team once more, Cream's long ears flapping hard as she carried her friends to the distracted evil scientist. The rest of the group, seeing Team Rose fly towards Narasu, knew it was their only chance to save Vector and Sonic, to put an end to the madman's conquest.
"It's now or never!" Rouge declared, her fist clutched tightly.
"Roger." Shadow nodded, his jet soles igniting its jets, his speed transforming him through a yellow/orange blur, while his bat partner took to the air, Omega, Espio, Danny and Frances charging as well.
Charmy was for once quick to follow Team Rose, aiming to follow along his own plan to threaten Narasu's allergy, eager to save his boss and oldest friend as well as the teenage cobalt hero.
"Sorry, Sonic, but we cannot allow your crocodile friend devour you," Shadow whispered, twinge of regret creeping up his heart, a flicker of yellow light forming, casting a series of Chaos Spears.
However, instead of hitting Vector directly on the head, the black and red hedgehog deliberately made sure the attacks would miss, narrowly avoiding the right side but enough to force the giant crocodile to freeze in alarm just as he was about to engulf the panicking quartet in his mouth, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Chris, realizing they cannot escape yet the latter trio refusing to leave the blue hedgehog to be eaten again, having squeezed their eyes shut as they did not want to see their end like this, saw they were spared. The sight of the giant mouth before them frightened even the mightiest warrior in Knuckles to the core.
"Target locked on! Fire!" Omega opened fire, multiple laser ammo sprouting across near Vector's feet that had forced the giant detective to stumble away, a frantic dance of a crazed flamingo dancer rocking the earth, his grip however still tightened around Sonic, yet ever so slowly loosening.
However, it was enough to force him to move his grasped hand away from his face, as Rouge, carrying Espio by the wrists, tossed the chameleon detective in the art of a bowling ball, the purple ninja's feet stretched to stomp the top of Vector's snout, the force thrusting it closed tightly to prevent his friend from swallowing Sonic's group and Chris.
A roar of frustration akin rising his throat in a monstry of a predator, Vector's eyes narrowed, a swift of his tail like a giant tentacle of a sea monster whipped across the fields, the heavy collision of breakable impact upon Shadow and Omega, the hedgehog's cries of agony as though a heavy boulder crushed his ribcage, the robot cluttering against the soil, malfunctions and joints scrapping the dirt with threats of frying his circuits. Danny, Frances and Topaz were also caught in the impact, their painful cries absorbed within the air, tumbling like tumbleweeds with somersaults, Danny hitting his head hard on the ground, the rock-sharp throb in the back of his skull clouding his vision.
Tails, Chris and Knuckles all nearly felt their grip slipping from Vector's fingers, the cotton material scrapping with tears and rips through their fingernails, Sonic releasing another gasp of dismay, his eyes widened like they were about to burst.
"Bwahahahahaha! Ah ha ha ha ha-eh!? EEP!" Narasu, distracted by the achievement of Vector attacking his own friends and allies, perked a high-pitched squeak of fear when Charmy suddenly came to view, hovering with a pouty look of anger across his features.
"You've caused a lot of trouble, you bad man! Give up now or I'll sting ya' into staying in hospital forever!" The young bee snapped, one hand curled against his hip, his stinger ready for an attack.
"Uh, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-!" Unfortunately for Narasu, he couldn't even respond a single word, panic gripping him and closing his throat, as a battle cry from below once more caught his attention, his gaze snapped towards the incoming approach of Team Rose, their and Cheese' features holding anger and determination, the tightening grip on Amy's hammer making her knuckles nearly burst but she ignored it.
"I'll destroy you!" Amy yelled. "This is for Sonic, all of my friends and the two worlds!"
With a mighty string of all her strength, years of experience of carrying her hammer, the pink hedgehog tossed it in the delicate art of an athlete tossing a frisbee, the weapon whirling towards the evil man who yelped in a girlish manner, throwing his arms forward to shield himself. This was a fatal mistake. With his left palm exposed, Narasu felt the hard hammer hit the red gem that shattered within impact, glass pieces flying and raining down like hail stones, sparks of red and purple electrical-like charges emerging.
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" Narasu's painful cries of agony soared within the air, his free hand grasping his injured hand, fingers clasped tightly around his wrist, pain sweeping along his features. "W-What have you done!?"
The moment Amy's hammer destroyed the gem, the mutated human soon felt pressure of painful sensation sweep across his body, intense heat as though someone had infused him into an oven from inside out, boiling like bubbles in a cooking pan filled with hot water within his veins and blood, air perched from his lungs, the heaviness threatening to stop him from breathing becoming far too much for him.
"W-What...My...body...!?"
While Narasu was quickly surccumbing to his own Mutagen due to the loss of his power gem, as the Sonic Heroes, some recovering from the beating and Rouge having to save Espio from falling, soon shifted their gaze to Vector, who's eyes flickered once more, growls of agony bubbling within his throat with the Mutagen within his body slowly fading yet darkening. His head throbbing as though someone had shoved multiple rocks surrounding his brain, pressuring them to squeeze it into mush, the giant crocodile unconsciously thrust his hand holding Sonic, tossing him airborne.
"WHOAAAAA!" Sonic flew, thrown like a useless toy, flailing his arms, panic washing over him, while Tails, Chris and Knuckles were flung off in the similar manner.
Fortunately, Tails and Knuckles recovered enough, the former crying out his big brother's name before twirling his namesakes in a way of helicopter blades, his hands gripping tightly around the blue hedgehog's wrists while the red echidna thrust his arms beneath Chris' legs and back, flipping mid-air, descending to a crouch, bending his legs upon landing. Charmy, Cream, Cheese, Amy, Cosmo, Rouge and Espio soon joined him, all gathering around with concern latching their features.
"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails cried, fear and concern spreading across his expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Tails!" Sonic nodded, his face latching with worry. "We've still gotta get Vector back to normal!"
Painful grunts and screams cut his little brother's attempts to respond, the two-tailed fox and the blue hedgehog, and soon all the others, including those recovering from the impact of the earlier attacks, shifted their gaze towards Vector whose hands grasped his head, hunched forward low, dark mists sweeping from his body, while Narasu was jolting in a way as though a robot or a glitch were acting out of control, the latter feeling like he was being electrocuted.
"Hey, what's going on with Vector and Narasu now?" Charmy asked, dumbstruck.
Confusion, concern and fear was all the expressions spreading over everyone's features and sinking within their hearts, the sky roaring with agony of lightning and thunder, the gusts of hurricane-like winds nearly blowing everyone over, the currents thrusting like flying pieces of metal against Tails and Sonic's bodies, the two brothers collectively crying out in alarm just as the twin-tailed kitsune landed on the ground roughly, nearly losing his grip on Sonic who wobbled to his knees.
"Tails, you okay?" Sonic asked, his hands on his little brother's shoulders in a gentle grip, relief washing over him as Tails nodded.
The two quickly joined by Amy and Cosmo embracing them, Sonic yelping before laying his hands gently on his self-proclaimed girlfriend's shoulders, a soft, gentle smile gifted to reassure her, Tails immediately hugging his own girlfriend back, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes, they and everyone else soon turned to see both Vector having both hands on his head with a loud groan of agony, and even Narasu grasping his head in a painful, tight grip, his fingers trying to dig into his sculp, sparks of black lightning and mists of the Mutagen igniting all across his body. He was breathing heavily, air purged from inside out.
Sonic and his friends' eyes widened simultaneously like a diamino of plates, gasps below blocked by the thunder's roar like a massive monster's rage.
Suddenly things had just gotten from bad to worse, and what has become of Vector's state of mind now? Has Narasu lost control only for the Mutagen now to become independent?
A/N: Yeah, sorry for the cliffhanger again, especially after nearly two years since updating this story. Again, I am so deeply sorry for the long wait, I will try to ensure the next and potentially the final part of the Mutagen Saga will be a lot quicker than this one was. But don't worry, Vector will be alright, that I promise!
Writer's block, a bit of a loss of inspiration, and 2023 being a crazy year, a lot of things that prevented me from continuing this. Let's hope that this year, 2024, will be a little bit better.
I'll try and update this again very soon. Until, Happy New Year 2024 everyone!
See you later!