Chapter Text
(Angel Island, Red Mountain Caldera)
Mecha flew at Green with one of its arms extended and hand retracted into the barrel, firing a few large, blue energy blasts. The woman dove from her platform to meet its challenge, the light on her gun shifting to magenta as she drew its Bolt Blade. She canceled out the incoming projectiles with a slash and swung at her foe, only for it to flip over her and whip its tails. Green caught it with her weapon, but the force of it sent her flying back over the crater, and she would have fallen in if not for her transforming companion.
“Even Chaos-enhanced shots are destroyed by that concentrated beam,” Mecha noted aloud.
“And that plasma coating on your tails is the only reason it didn’t cut through them,” Green taunted it, “not that I’d be satisfied with just taking a bit off the bottom.”
The ferrous fox “narrowed” its optics at that. If that weapon could truly cleave through its metal plating, then it would have to exercise more caution. Were it not for the doctor’s order and its own desire to know her secrets, Mecha would’ve opted to eliminate her already. On the other hand, Green clearly had no qualms about reducing it to slag.
‘How annoying,’ it thought, ‘if only organic brains remained intact after their carriers ceased functioning.’
It dipped down and went for a rising Buzz Saw Spin Dash at Green’s platform, but contrary to its expectation, Nanatsu no Chikara held firm as sparks flew from their contact. There was a loud click as Green pulled the slide on her blaster, changing the indicator to light coral pink. Her ride put some distance between them and their foe, then flipped around so she could fire off a bright orange sphere. Mecha deployed its Amber Barrier to deflect it, but just after bouncing off the fading shield, it detonated in a large fireball. It was the robot’s turn to be hurtled back, though it was nothing it couldn’t shrug off with its jets.
Knowing how quickly Mecha would adapt to that type, Green immediately switched again just before it recovered, her gun lighting up with an electric blue and unleashing a similarly-colored ray. The fox zoomed around the rim of the crater to avoid it, watching the energy carve into the rock like a surgical laser. It countered with its eye beams and a few more shots, noticing that unlike the shorter ray, this one didn’t appear to destroy projectiles. That forced the woman to back off momentarily, leaping from her companion and going into a slide towards the edge of the crater. Mecha closed in to try and rend her with its talons, but she dared to jump and start running down the side of the mountain.
“Are you trying to escape now?” it asked snidely as it followed suit, sparks flying from its heels as they descended the rocky slope.
It was answered with another click and a rapid-fire stream of lasers like that of the beam sword, the light on her gun now a slate blue-magenta. While these could be deflected with its Amber Barrier, the defensive measure lasted only so long, and Mecha soon found itself getting pelted. Rather than retreat, it boosted past Green and cut into her path with another Spin Dash.
She threw her back against the cliff and drifted around the debris onto an outcropping, though it was soon severed by her enemy. As it fell through the air, Mecha landed on the other side and withdrew its hands so that both arm cannons could fire away. Green and the metal fox went back and forth trading shots and maneuvering around the limited space, both mostly missing each other, but occasionally scoring a few hits. After a few more seconds, they jumped away from the slab of stone just before it crashed into another section of the volcano below.
Just as the armored Animal landed close to the lip of a tunnel into the mountain, her adversary flew up from below the cliff and tackled her down the passage. They tumbled for several seconds until they came out into a vast open area composed of blue and purple crystals. Upon seeing the lengthy natural bridge over the magma-filled chasm far below, Mecha recognized it as the area close to the Hidden Palace. If it could just get past Green, it could reach the Master Emerald. And if Mecha could manage that, it could “borrow” some of the gem’s power, and then its objective would become that much easier to accomplish.
“Don’t try it,” the woman said as she pulled the slide once again, “I haven’t just been sitting pretty while waiting for you and Al.”
Mecha ignored her and attempted to mow her down with a Spin Dash, which she handily dodged. Of course, this was just to get her to move while it proceeded on towards the sanctuary of the legendary mineral, leaving it with no more obstacles. Or so it believed until it crossed the threshold of the Hidden Palace, where it heard a loud and rapid series of beeps. Not even a second later, a huge blast threw it back from the entrance of the main chamber, which summarily collapsed from the structural damage caused by the mines. While it was no major impediment, Mecha was less than enthused at this development, whirling around to glare at Green.
“I told you not to try it,” she remarked smartly, “but then, experience told me you wouldn’t listen.”
The robot picked itself up and “cracked” its neck. “It will take more than that to bring me down.”
“Oh, I’m well aware.” Green drew her beam saber again. “That first trap was just a warning. Leave now and I’ll spare you the rest.”
‘The nerve of this girl,’ thought Mecha, the blue Emerald pulsating in its chest cavity, ‘believing she can best me by herself when it took so many the last time...fool.’
“Are you aware of this?” it shouted at her as it spread its arms wide and exposed its pulsating core. “Avatar!”
An azure aura matching that of the Emerald in its torso enveloped Mecha’s form, one arm extended in a challenge to Green. With every passing of a fraction of a second, a copy of the ferrous fox popped into existence, each of them taking up a different threatening stance. One after another rushed at the masked Animal, some flexing their tails, others brandishing their claws, more going into a Spin Dash, and the rest rushing in with some other weapon in mind. More than two dozen to one, if Green were to estimate the odds without resorting to her visor’s scanners.
Were it against anyone else, even Miles himself, it would’ve been an utterly overwhelming assault to overcome. And even for Green, it was apparently more than she was used to. She cut through one clone and instantly dismissed it, only for another to grab at her arms and leave her open to tail swipe from a third. This caused those two copies to dissipate as well, which meant that although they were just as fast and strong as the original, their staying power was even weaker than that of the Ruby’s phantoms. They were essentially only good for a one-time task, but Mecha could produce many duplicates in short order compared to the cursed gem, from what she could discern.
Not all of them were targeting her, however. The original fox directed some to get through the rubble blocking the way to the Palace, and once they had, they quickly got to work setting off Green’s traps. Lasers blasted a few clones, while explosives took care of others, but it mattered little to Mecha. Even though this power had a short time limit, it was enough to defeat the defenses that the woman had set up.
And as for Green herself, she was certainly breathing a bit harder after that, yet she was still standing tall and aiming her weapon its way. Her armor had certainly seen better days, though, having acquired quite a few scuffs and dents in the process, her visor partly broken and showing her blue eyes.
“Alright, I’ll admit you surprised me,” she growled, her voice no longer fully filtered by her helmet, “but don’t count me out just yet. I can keep going.”
And Mecha would have obliged her, had it not been for an untimely notification appearing in its system. Usually it would have ignored such, but it was of urgent priority, and so it let a generated message flashing through its optics. A veritable blink was all it required to read through everything it needed to know, and clear frustration showed in its optics.
“Tch, the doctor has run into some trouble with my prototype’s friends,” it said with a recording of a heavy sigh, “and now he expects me to come to his aid. Although before I do that...”
With the path now open and the obstacles cleared, Mecha rocketed backwards and flew at full speed towards the center of the Hidden Palace. Green summoned Nanatsu no Chikara to try and intercept the automaton while she ran after, though it handily evaded the platform. Without wasting any time, Mecha planted its boots on the crown of the Master Emerald, arcs of blue and green lightning snaking around its body as it tapped into the great stone’s store of Chaos Energy. But barely a second later, it found Green trying to grapple with it, getting caught up in the electrical current surging through the robot.
They were soon engulfed in a flash and thrown away from one another. Mecha had barely changed in terms of physical alterations, appearing slightly more intimidating, but not as much as it had been on Carnival Island. Its eyes were now constantly red and an indigo-blue aura covered its metallic silver and black-accented frame, the blue Emerald in its chest fully exposed and pulsating brightly. Across from it, Green’s armor remained unchanged, but her eyes had become crimson and she was sheathed in cyan light, her fists tightly clenched and trembling. To the robot’s disappointment, she faltered and fell to the ground mere seconds later, her aura going out as she dropped to her knees and tilted over onto one side with a thump. Mecha scanned her, finding her to be in stable condition, although unconscious.
‘...bring them back for reconditioning,’ Alexei’s voice replayed through its recent memory.
“No,” Mecha retorted to itself as it took hold of the woman by one arm, “I’ll deal with her later in my own way.”
The fox set about destroying much of the shrine and sealing all exits except for a hole above that led back to the volcano. In practically an instant, it brought them atop the caldera once again, glancing around for what would be the most inconspicuous and out-of-the-way place on the island. Once it determined a suitable location deep in the western jungle, it simply dropped Green off, though not before taking her battered helmet. It briefly stopped when it saw the face beneath the mask, but disregarded it just as quickly. It knew that the power it had obtained was fleeting, and so it left to go rejoin the NBA fleet that was on its way.
But in its haste, it had forgotten about one thing. Nanatsu no Chikara emerged from the canopy and zipped over to Green and transformed into its soldier mode. It opened its chest cavity, then gingerly placed her inside before sealing it up again. The machine shifted to its eagle form after that, letting out a cry as it took to the skies and went in Mecha’s direction.
(Little Planet, Present Day)
Miles and everyone else in his group spilled out of a portal just above a grassy field, all of them landing with a soft thump.
“Well, that was unpleasant,” J remarked as he got to his feet and straightened his vest. Once he got his bearings and a good look around, his mouth hung open. “What in the name of the gods?”
Everyone else glanced upward, and many of their reactions were the same as the cross fox’s. Above them was a formless space of ever shifting colors, dotted with stars, pyramids, and other geometric shapes. A number of these seemed incredibly close to where the Animals were, the naked eye enough to reveal them as other planetoids of many shapes and compositions. Very close to them was a bright and bustling city with a musical instrument motif and premiere lights shining in criss-cross patterns every so often. It stirred a strange feeling in the Wolf twins that they couldn’t put into words, but Miles, Cream, and Amy all immediately recognized where they’d ended up.
“It’s Stardust Speedway!” the hedgehog girl exclaimed, jumping up and down as she pointed, “and look, there are people!”
Everyone followed her guidance and saw that there were, indeed, people roaming about the streets of the ritzy metropolis. Those that had been there before found that strange enough on its own, considering there never had been anyone present during their previous visits. But what made it even more bizarre was that the throngs were composed of all manner of living creatures.
As they wandered closer, they saw there were Animals of many species, humans, and what were clearly extraterrestrial lifeforms. One kind was bulky and made entirely of stone, with stubby arms and legs, orange eyes, and a mostly black, rocky orb for a torso. Another was like a cross between a manta ray and a jellyfish, that sported two pairs of flipper-like wings connected to translucent, reddish bodies that ended in a tapered triangular tail. There were green semi-liquid slug creatures with four tentacles and four cyan eyes nestled in a more solid white section on their heads. Even a couple of humanoid giants made of energized cyan crystals encased in dark armor could be seen, a relatively tiny dot for an “eye” placed in the center of their horned heads. All those and more were out on the town, with many of them that had distinctive facial expressions showing excitement and joy.
“And the sky above us,” Miles mentioned, bringing everyone’s focus back to that while he loaded Remi onto his back in its pack form, “the only place I’ve seen something like this was in the Special Zone.”
J stroked his chin. “Fascinating. What if Little Planet goes to the Special Zone during the other eleven months out of an Earth year?”
“Well, given what we went through during our first outing on Angel Island,” Gadget said with a shrug, “it’s probably the most likely theory I’ve heard for why it just disappears.”
As the gang continued on into Stardust Speedway, they found not only people of other planets, but folks that seemed like they’d been ripped out of history itself. Posh men and women straight out of Victorian England could be seen on one corner, while a samurai in mid-Edo Period garb made his way down a different side street. Soldiers wearing Union and Confederate uniforms of the U.S. Civil War sat together at a contemporary cafe, not an ounce of animosity shown between them. J even had to rub his eyes and clear his ears to make sure he wasn’t imagining the caiman and jaguar in late-Incan fashion passing their group while speaking genuine Quechua to each other.
“Dude, this is so wild,” Lavender mumbled as he stopped to pinch himself. He winced and hissed quietly at the pain. “Nope, I’m awake.”
“Hey!” exclaimed a friendly voice from among the throng of people.
It came from a ferret with light brown fur aside from his arms and legs, the tip of his tail, and his face. The former three were all black, while in the latter case, he had a white face with a black mask-like marking over his dark brown eyes, similar to that of a raccoon. He wore a pair of sunny yellow gloves and a matching set of sneakers, adding a bit more pop to his overall dark color scheme. And without any prompting aside from a gap in the crowd giving him the opportunity, he made his way over to the fox and the rest.
“You guys are new,” he remarked as he looked them over, “I can tell because I make it a point to know pretty much everyone around here.”
Gizmo pointed out her adoptive brother, Cheese, and the two younger girls. “Actually, they’ve been here before. More than once for this couple.” She nudged Miles and Cream as she said the last bit, who each gave her an irritated or bashful look, respectively. “They never saw any other people here during their previous visits, though.”
“Oh, so you guys came when it was close to Earth. That’s similar to how I got here myself.” He held out a hand to Miles. “All the same, lemme introduce myself. The name’s Knox, Knox Blackfoot.”
“I’m Miles Prower,” the teen replied as he shook the offered glove with one of his own. He then pointed out each member of his entourage as their turn came up. “This is Cream the Rabbit and her Chao friend, Cheese. The hedgehog girl is Amy Rose. The twins are my adoptive older siblings, Gad and Giselle Wolf, along with our mutual friend, Lavender the Cat. The other fox is my cousin, Dr. Jonathan P. Cross, though he prefers ‘J’ for short.” He removed the robot from his back and let it transform before the mustelid’s eyes. “And last but not least is my faithful companion, Remi. There are others, but they’re not with us at the moment.”
Knox nodded as he committed it all to memory. “Nice to meet all of you. So, is this your first time in the Special Zone?”
“It is for most of us,” Gadget answered, “Miles, my sister and I, and another friend have all gone into it before, but not for more than a few minutes total.”
“Just passing through, huh?” The ferret shrugged and chuckled a little. “Well, I hope you didn’t lose too much time getting to wherever you were going.”
The three canid siblings all gave him a quizzical look at that remark. Knox’s expression became less jovial after seeing their confusion.
“Ah, right, if you were only in here for a hot minute, then you probably wouldn’t know. But, while Little Planet’s in the Special Zone, then–”
There was a loud gong that rang out from the tower of the great manor built in the center of the city. Six more followed before all was briefly quiet again, until the monitors around town changed their footage to zoom in on the highest balcony of that building. There stood a tall and powerful spotted hyena approaching them, his fur mostly brown that sported curious hieroglyphic tattoos, and his eyes a silvery gray. He wore trim black slacks, semi-formal brown boots, a rather mean-looking necklace composed of several predators’ teeth, and a modest mantle with a short cape that matched his eyes. Miles also noticed that everyone else around them had stopped what they were doing and were fixated on the broadcast of the large Animal.
“Yeah, Lord Khaldun!” Knox exclaimed with pumped fists, “it’s that time of the week!”
Amy tilted her head. “What’s going on?”
“Just watch, you’ll see!” the ferret insisted.
The hyena strolled close to the edge of the balcony, gazing out at Stardust Speedway below with a neutral face. It soon changed to a fang-filled smile as he brought out a microphone and raised it in front of his muzzle.
“Citizens of Little Planet,” he addressed everyone watching, “I come to you tonight with a message that’s long been repeated at the end of each week.” He cleared his throat and tossed the mic into the air, letting it flip several times before snatching it back and pointing at the camera with his other hand. “You know it, I know it, so let’s say it together: it’s time to turn it up...”
“And get down!” Knox cheered, though he was nearly drowned out by the multitude of other identical cries.
Khal chuckled and made space for another individual. It was a slender human with pale skin, very dark brown eyes, and slightly curly black hair that went down to his neck. He wore a one-piece, metallic silver suit that covered everything below the neck except his hands and feet. The former were left bare while the latter were tucked away in a pair of white shoes with silver and black soles. He also wore a blue band around his right arm, and he was holding a mic of his own in his right hand.
“Is that who I think it is?” Gadget said with wide eyes.
“We’re starting tonight’s playlist with an old song that has a new twist,” Khal went on, gesturing to the man next to him, “so I’m gonna let our special guest take it away!”
The hyena bowed out of the picture and went inside the manor, music starting up a few seconds later. The relaxed rhythm and the consistent beat soon got the people moving, some starting to dance as jazzy instrumentals were added. Several seconds into the song, the man finally raised his mic, and when he began to sing, pretty much everyone in the team recognized his voice.
“Lipstick in hand, Tahitian tan; in her painted-on jeans.”
“The music’s a bit different, but I know that voice and those lyrics anywhere!” Gizmo exclaimed as she bobbed her head to the beat.
“She dreams of fame, she changed her name, to one that fights the movie screen.”
“Truly one of the most bizarre experiences I’ve had so far,” J said, “not that I’m complaining.” He allowed himself to move his arms and hips a bit with the music. “Quite the atmosphere, what with a celebrity concert and many opportunities to learn from the people here.”
“Speaking of which,” Miles muttered as he tried to bring the conversation back around, “what were you saying before, Knox?”
The mustelid blinked and stopped grooving along with the rest of the crowd. “Oh yeah, sorry about that, I got caught up in the moment. Can you blame me and the rest, though?”
“Westbound Greyhound to Tinseltown, to pursue her movie star dreams, ah...”
Knox led them further down the streets and towards the looping highways that went all around the Zone. Even up there, there were people dancing or walking around while waving glow sticks and lighters, or clapping along every so often.
“Ah, and she’s giving hot tricks to men just to get in, she was taught that that’s not clean.”
“Anyway,” he continued, trying to speak over the music, “as I was saying, while it's in the Special Zone, Little Planet’s time flow is much faster. You don’t age faster, but you’ll find a lot more time’s gone by on Earth once you get back.”
Miles was familiar with the theory that time and space obeyed different laws in different dimensions. He also had a good idea, as well as a bad feeling, about where the ferret was going with this.
“How much more time?” Lavender asked the pertinent question.
“It’s a ratio of one to eleven as far as the Special Zone to Earth.” Knox held up a digit. “For example, one month here is eleven months on Earth.”
J smacked one palm with his other fist. “That lines up perfectly with when Little Planet appears above Never Lake! Another one of our world’s mysteries solved!”
“Oh, but isn’t this bad?” Cream said worriedly, “that means every minute we spend here is eleven minutes there, so if we stay for even an hour, or a day...”
She didn’t need to finish for everyone to figure out what she was getting at. They had to figure out where the Jackal Squad ended up and find a way back to their home dimension before too much time passed on Earth. Who knows what would happen if they left the rest of their coalition waiting?
“If you guys need to get back in a hurry, you can try appealing to Lord Khaldun,” Knox suggested as he took a break and leaned back into a lamp post, “although knowing him, he’s already looking for you.”
“Correction, I had already found them.”
It was a case of “blink and you’ll miss it” with the hyena. Or rather, the ferret had seemingly been the only one near his position until the group had blinked, at which point Khal was there just a couple of meters away. What made it more bizarre was that the voice had come from behind the lot of them, not the front where the spotted mammal was now.
“And thanks for explaining some things, Blackfoot,” Khal told Knox, “saves us valuable time.”
“Y-yeah, no problem, sir!” the ferret stuttered. After a moment, he flashed Miles and the rest a military salute. “Anyway, I better not hold you guys up any longer. It was nice meeting all of you, and good luck getting back home!” He gave them a thumbs-up. “If you ever come back, I’ll tell you a few stories, like how I first got here!”
With that, Knox went to make himself part of the crowd. Miles watched him until he disappeared, then faced the hyena. Worse than any previous time, he felt that sense of deja vu pop up again, almost to the point that it gave him a headache. He was thankful, then, that the hyena decided to take the initiative and didn’t seem to notice his discomfort. That or he was ignoring it, either one worked for him.
“Hello, Miles and friends, and family,” he hailed them all, “I am Khaldun bin Zaman, the leader of the peoples of Little Planet, but you may refer to me as ‘Khal’ for short. And no need for greetings on your part; I know about all of you.”
Something about that name was familiar to more than just the fox; everyone but J and Lavender, in fact. And while it was a bold claim on Khal’s part, none of them were strongly inclined to disbelieve it. After all, they’d just seen him on TV moments ago in a spot that’s still fairly distant, yet here he was.
“Then you probably know why we’re here,” Miles assumed.
“I do.” Khal directed their gaze towards the outskirts of the city, where they could see the Crystal Citadel further in the distance. “Your quarry is in the strip between this Zone and the next, and making their way here. I’ll help you get to them quickly, for the sake of my citizens and your battle back home.”
Gadget’s fists tightened. “Right. We need to return to Earth ASAP, and we don’t want another tragedy like what we saw earlier.”
“I’ll guide you along the path of least resistance.” As he began to move forward, Khal fetched a small comm device from one of his pockets and spoke into it. “Have the people clear away from the main speedway and the furthest eastern blocks. I’ve got some hostile ‘guests’ that I need to eject.”
(Pacific Ocean Airspace)
“Agent Ace!” the co-pilot of the group’s Black Condor transport shouted, “urgent report from the scouts ahead!”
Speedy flew into the co*ckpit so that he could get a look for himself. “Patch them through.”
“Sir!” another soldier’s voice called, “our radar has located Dr. f*ckurokov’s airship, but there’s a lot more readings than just his!”
The former Kukku prince clicked his beak. He figured that Alexei would have backup, but first, he had to determine just where they’d come from.
“Approximate figures?” he questioned the scout.
“About forty-eight gunships, sixteen battleships, and then the main airship,” came the report.
And that was just counting the medium and large ships, the bird considered. There were sure to be many more fighter vessels and people to man them, not to mention take care of the upkeep on everything. He estimated that the Empire probably would’ve boasted a similarly sized fleet if they hadn’t focused most of their resources on improving and maintaining the Battle Fortress. Were it just him and Rouge along for the ride, this might have been rather a difficult operation. But with Sonic and Knuckles as well as the Chaotix trio to assist them, the bird believed it should be much more manageable.
Speedy returned to where everyone else was, where most of them aside from Espio and Rouge were eagerly anticipating the impending action. He would’ve told them to get more serious about it, but he knew the blue hedgehog had been sporting much the same attitude when they’d been on different sides. If his rival could make use of that spunk, then so could he.
“Sounds like we’re almost ready to move out,” Rouge remarked, her sensitive ears having picked up on the conversation.
“Alright, finally some action!” Sonic exclaimed as he hopped to his feet and stretched his legs, “sure took us a while with this slow clunker.”
The ace rolled his eyes at the boy’s impatience and jab towards G.U.N.’s tech. “If all of you could fly and keep up with me, we wouldn’t have needed to bother with it.”
“That wouldn’t be hard for me, but Espio and Vector?” Charmy said with a grin, “yeah, they’re kinda grounded.”
“I’ll ground you if you don’t watch it, pipsqueak!” the croc kid threatened.
Espio hummed as he sat back with his eyes closed. “I’m sensing something...strange that we’re approaching. It’s unpleasant.”
“That’s likely the Ruby,” the bat said with a frown, “that thing’s more trouble than it’s worth, not to mention ugly.”
“If you can feel it, then Alexei is likely already putting it to use.” Speedy double-checked his flight suit and secured the red Emerald in the chest, the energy causing some of the gaps in his armor to light up and match it. “We’ll split into three teams to cut down their forces and make our way to Alexei’s ship. Rouge, you’re with me.”
“Of course.”
Espio stood up and tightened his gloves. “Let’s get to work.”
“You got it!” Charmy replied in his typical chipper manner.
“Those chumps are about to have a bad day,” Vector said as he cracked his knuckles.
Sonic and Knuckles gave each other a fist bump, then glanced over at Blue. The armored Animal finished lining his waist with several grenades from his pack, then loaded a rocket into his launcher. He slung the weapon across his back and strolled over to the spiky pair.
“That leaves the three of us, then,” he told them as he thumped his chest with one hand, “you can count on me.”
“Glad to have ya!” Sonic said, flashing him a thumbs up, “just keep doin’ what ya did in Studiopolis and Canton City, and we’ll be okay!”
“Alright, that’s enough chatter,” Speedy cut in, making his way over to the back of the aircraft, “we’re approaching the front of the fleet, so get ready to jump.”
The eight Animals all gathered back there and braced themselves as the loading ramp went down. Blue took hold of Sonic and Knuckles’ hands, firing up his boots as he let the wind suck them out. While in controlled freefall thanks to the big guy’s thrusters, they could see dozens of ships proudly displaying the NBA’s colors. All of the fighters and minor supply ships were no bigger than the Black Condor they were in, but most other vessels were at or over ten meters long. The gunships were in the hundreds of meters range, though the battleships were large enough that they put many famous ocean liners to shame. They flew in a protective formation around Alexei’s dirigible, which was only a smidgeon more massive than one of them.
Blue brought them down onto one of the unarmed carriers, letting Sonic take the lead while he and Knuckles followed. The three rushed towards the fuel line that connected it to one of the gunships, using it as a makeshift rail to grind their way to the bow. Several of the turrets on deck spun about to target them, the trio scattering to avoid the explosive rounds and spray of bullets. As the hedgehog and Echidna went around the perimeter to deal with them accordingly, a few Robo Kukkus landed to apprehend them. Blue smashed through the first with a Spin Dash, then uncurled and spun on his heel to hurl one of his grenades at the other two. Upon detonation, it splashed azure slime onto the robots, immediately causing them to corrode and fall apart, the substance eating through the top of the deck as well.
“Get to the back of the ship and jump!” he yelled to the others as he descended into the hole he’d made.
Sonic and Knuckles did as he directed, speeding up and taking a leap of faith off the end of the stern. Fortunately, the gap between them and the next ship wasn’t a wide one, and with it coming at them rather than flying away, they were able to make the jump without issue. And barely a moment after landing, the ship they’d left behind began falling as flames overtook it, Blue rocketing up out of the breach just ahead of the fire.
“Nice one!” Sonic complimented him as he rejoined the group, “let’s keep the party going!”
Knuckles punched out the next set of cannons they came across, then helped to boost the younger Animal up a wall to a passage that briefly went into the ship. They came out near one of the larger gun ports, where Blue took them by the arm once again and flew them to a few refuelers that were significantly further away. As before, they slid over the pipes and arrived on a second gunship, facing much the same opposition as they had with the first. This time, however, there was a different sort of avian Animal-type robot to join the rest. It was taller and broader than the Robo Kukkus with proportions similar to that of humans, its coat mostly purple except for the top of its head, its feet, and around its joints, which were silver. In place of proper hands, its right limb had a sizable energy cannon affixed to it, while the left was adorned with a shield.
“I’ll handle this one!” Knuckles shouted as he ran forward to deliver an Explosive Punch.
He was stunned when the robot not only blocked and withstood his attack, but came away with its shield hardly even damaged. The Guardian skirted back to avoid its retaliatory fire, then went in for another go. It ended just the same as his first attempt, causing him no small amount of frustration.
“Lemme make him dizzy for ya, Knux!” Sonic said as he ran past his friend.
Though the droid was fast to defend itself and follow the kid’s movements, the hedgehog was even quicker to overtake it. He went around in circles until a Blue Tornado formed, and while it didn’t lift his target into the air, it succeeded in causing it to spin out of control. While it was still vulnerable, Sonic Rolled over to Knuckles and let the Echidna use him as part of a Fire Dunk. The combination attack struck true and dismantled the robot, clearing the way forward.
“There’s a slew of smaller gunships on the way to a battleship,” Blue informed them as he scanned ahead, “hang on tight!”
Once again, he brought them along for a flight, slowly ascending towards the massive vessel while weaving through cannon fire. A handful of fighter jets came to try and intercept him, but they were stopped by Speedy as he came in from below with a Shocking Blast. Rouge handled the stragglers with a Screw Kick, then went off with the ace after another of the battleships, letting Blue bring his team down safely.
The three blitzed down the front of the ship, moving faster than the defenses could keep up until they arrived at one of the bridge walls. They jumped, climbed, and hovered their way up the outside until they found a way through, coming to the top of a broad platform boarded by several cannons. Another of those new models showed up to stand in their way, transforming into a plane-like state and firing a large beam of magenta energy at them. It was easy enough to avoid and left the robot wide open, so it was simple for the boys to take care of it with a collective Rolling Jump. Past that, they found the passage into the bridge itself as well as the main reactor, the latter of which Blue wasted no time in launching a rocket at. They beat a hasty retreat and left for one of the nearby gunships as the battleship fell towards the ocean.
Over with the Chaotix, Espio hopped off the “rail” of a supply ship and activated his camouflage, sneaking past some Robo Kukkus on the gunship he boarded. As he zipped ahead, Vector took up the rear, bowling over any Robo Kukkus that got in his way. Charmy kept the turrets focused on him, shrinking in his flight mode to dart through the volleys and then enlarging again to strike a few fighter planes. The bee and the croc’s efforts allowed the chameleon to reach the engines, where he threw an explosive tag at the most critical point. The ship went down and collided with another, which vanished into a cloud of red-purple mist upon impact. The Chaotix gathered together on the failing vessel and abandoned it for a small carrier that managed to escape the carnage.
“That must’ve been one of them fake ships,” Vector mentioned as they made the leap to a tanker.
“Phantom ship,” Espio corrected him, running along the side and vaulting over the next wave of Robo Kukkus, “but yes, it seems that the new Dr. f*ckurokov is already using the Phantom Ruby.”
Charmy shrank so that two of them accidentally smacked into each other, then returned to normal to sock them both with an Aerial Spin Dash. “Then we’ve gotta hurry or else this battle’s never gonna end!”
Upon reaching the next ship, Espio faded from sight once again, slinked by more troops and Robo Kukkus. Vector followed him and bowled through the opposition, more springs bouncing him and the others up a high wall. After smashing the cannons they found at the top, the bee took the croc and chameleon by hand and flew them across a gap to the next refueling vessel, where they used the pipes to land on one of the battleships. The purple ninja stealthily struck down the robots standing guard on the front deck, then momentarily split off from his comrades to find the switch for the barrier. Once it was down, they pushed their way past more Robo Kukkus and climbed their way to the bridge, where numerous cannons adjusted their aim at them. A combined effort of Vector’s breath attack, Charmy’s stinger strikes, and Espio’s explosive tags took care of them in short order, leaving the path open. And with nothing to stop them from breaking into the bridge, the battleship went down soon after, the insect boy carrying his two friends to safety.
“Hey, there’s Sonic’s group!” he exclaimed as he saw the hedgehog and the other two with him gliding towards their position from a different battleship.
Soon enough, the six of them found themselves on the deck of Alexei’s dirigible, the cannons and gun batteries focused more on the G.U.N. forces around it than the intruders. Speedy and Rouge came in just a moment later, and as they all approached the bridge, they saw the main door at the bottom slide open. The owl himself stepped out to greet them, wearing nothing more than his typical red vest, dark slacks, and white overcoat, a slight grin on his muzzle.
“Back with reinforcements I see, Speedy,” he remarked as he prepared to tap on one wrist with the other hand, “too bad it will not be enough.”
Just before he could get the chance or anyone could move to stop him, an indigo streak shot through the sky and made a landing on the blimp with a nearly deafening thud. It was none other than Mecha, or rather, Overclocked Mecha, staring down the agents and the other enemies of the doctor with its crimson optics.
“Mecha Miles,” the owl said with a bit of a frightened voice, “you came, and you’re in your Overclocked Mode. Does that mean you’ve secured the Master Emerald?”
“I have, and I bring you a trophy, doctor,” Mecha replied with a sinister tone, “I know she would have been a great soldier, but she was too dangerous to contend with without resorting to my current state. I hope you understand.”
The heroes and the two operatives were taken aback by what they’d just heard, and the Guardian in particular was furious. But then it made things worse by showing Green’s helmet to Alexei, prompting a gasp from Speedy and Rouge. And then there was Blue, who began to noticeably tremble when he laid eyes on his partner’s busted up headgear.
“You lie,” he growled, “Green wouldn’t fall so easily to you.”
The robot’s optics focused on him. “Deny it all you want, but she’s de–”
“Shut up! I don’t believe you!”
Annoyed at this obstinate response, the steel vulpine spread its arms wide and rose into the air. The eight combatants rose to meet it, but they were too late to stop a huge flux of indigo-colored lightning bolts. The Chaotix and Rouge were shocked and flung aside while the three other attacking boys did their best to weather the storm. Knuckles defended himself by lifting a chunk of the deck, but the electrical arcs passed through it and gave him a jolt. Sonic was able to dodge a few of the bolts, but then let out a painful cry as a few more struck true and sent him flying over the edge. Without thinking, Speedy used his own Chaos-fueled lightning affinity to swiftly navigate through the onslaught and catch the hedgehog before he fell too far.
“Heh, I remember when ya shot me in the back over a drop like this,” the kid commented with a smirk.
“Consider this my penance for that incident,” the bird told him begrudgingly.
Blue’s head whipped back as it was struck with a bolt, shattering his visor, but thankfully getting none of the shards in his face or eyes. The force of the blow not only did that, but also forced him far enough back that he fell over the edge of the ship. He was prepared to activate his jet boots, but he didn’t expect to suddenly be caught by a certain mechanical avian prior to getting the chance.
“Nana-chi!” he exclaimed with some relief as he braced himself against the mighty eagle, “tell me, is Green okay?”
The transforming mecha turned its head and bobbed it affirmatively, that strange electronic speech coming in through his own helmet. “I have her here with me, Master Blue. She is injured, but stable.”
The fellow opened a hatch on its backside and slipped inside the construct. He saw that Green was indeed there, curled up, unconscious, and suspended in the air. Blue hovered over to her and hugged her tight, even if she couldn’t feel him at the moment.
“Thank goodness,” he murmured. He let go of his partner after a few moments and pressed a button on the back of his helmet so he could fully connect with the mech. Much as he wanted to pay Mecha back for what it had done to her, Blue knew that he couldn’t do that at the moment, even with this machine’s help. “Get everyone out of here, Nana-chi. Mecha’s too strong to fight as he is now.”
“Acknowledged, Master Blue.”
Without further fanfare, Nanatsu no Chikara gathered up every member of the group in its talons and beak, while those that could fly followed it closely. Mecha ignored them for the time being and helped the owl back to his feet. Alexei made no effort to resist, but he was still visibly unnerved by everything that had happened.
“Incredible,” he mumbled, “with just a single attack, you drove them away. I had read over your blueprints and helped reconstruct you twice now, but I never imagined that-”
“Quiet.” Mecha glanced back at the group as they made their retreat. “I’ll take care of everything now.”
Alexei didn’t trust those words, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He could only watch as Mecha strolled into the main control center and left him behind, bearing an expression that would’ve maliciously grinned if it could’ve. Such a visage made Alexei shudder; the genuine Miles never instilled such fear in him, even in all possible simulations he’d run and the footage he’d viewed. He knew that he’d been right to fear his grand-uncle’s magnum opus, ever more so as it walked out of the bridge with its head held high.
‘How horrible,’ the owl regrettably thought, ‘I should have reprogrammed him when I had the chance. But I wished to preserve Grand-Uncle Dmitri’s work out of respect, so I left it alone. Now it is too late, and I fear for–’
“Let’s get one thing straight, Alexei,” Mecha interrupted his thoughts, addressing him by name for the first time, “I could dispose of you at any time if I so please. But I shan’t throw you away just yet.” It showed the owl that it had extracted the Ruby from its device, shaking it teasingly in front of him. “It would be a waste to squander your talent, don’t you think?”
Never at any prior point in his life had Alexei felt such terrible dread. And as though reading his mind, Mecha hovered close to him, its optics gazing into his very soul.
“Stupid bird,” it viciously mocked him, “you’re not as clever as you think you are. All of those ‘contingencies’ of yours you came up with the stop me? Scrapped, deleted, and otherwise taken care of.” It let out laughter that chilled the owl to his hollow bones. “Now then, while we wait to arrive at Angel Island, I have a few experiments I’d like to perform.”
(Little Planet, Stardust Speedway)
As he raced through the loops and turns of Stardust Speedway, Miles couldn’t help but take an occasional glance at the de facto leader of the dwarf planet guiding them along. There was something about Khal that made him think they’d met before, but as far as his memory was concerned, there was no way that could be so. And yet, in spite of all rationality, that feeling of deja vu kept hounding him, practically screaming at him that he was somehow acquainted with the hyena.
“Khal, this has been bothering me since you showed up,” the fox told him as they leapt over a gap in the highway they were running down, “have we...met before?”
“Yes and no,” the larger Animal answered, taking a moment to Roll through a passage before continuing, “I met all of you in previous instances of this timeline, but until now, that hadn’t happened in this one.”
Cream stuck close to the front with those two as they took a sudden descent and went into a loop, then cleared another open space in the road. “What do you mean by that?”
“Not only am I the leader of Little Planet, but I’m also the guardian of the Time Stones.” With great ease, he ran up a sharp rise in the path, then flipped down to a narrow platform and used the yellow spring on it to boost himself over to where it continued. “On very rare occasions, their power is used to ‘correct’ the course of history; most often, it’s to prevent or mitigate something catastrophic. And in the vast majority of people’s cases regarding these revisions, they either have no memories or only pieces of memory about the unaltered versions of the timeline.”
Gizmo tilted her head in thought. “Is that why we’ve been having so many episodes of deja vu since December?”
“Yes, as that was when the most recent incident occurred. You won’t really remember what happened even if I tell you, but you do deserve to know since many of you were involved.” He retrieved the red Time Stone from his trousers and held it in front of him. “And in the interest of time...Hrosh!”
The entire world and the cosmos above, aside from the Animals and their companions, was suddenly cast into greyscale. The catchy tune they’d been listening to now sounded like it was stuck on a single, extremely long note that just kept going.
“Whoa, what did you do?” Lavender asked as he looked around in confusion, “everything’s in black and white like it’s from the early days of TV.”
Khal smirked at the cat’s reaction. “I slowed down time; one second of ‘real’ time will take five minutes to pass by for us. To everyone else, it’ll be as though we’re moving 300 times faster.”
“Astounding,” J remarked, “that should help immensely in getting back to the others more quickly.”
“Indeed. Now, let me tell you what happened a few months ago that necessitated rewriting those events.”
As they raced through the city, Khal recounted the adventure he’d shared with most of them during the previous year. How Little Planet had come under attack by a being known as Seirus, the fiery fragment of the Soleannan moon god, Lunaren, with the aim of restoring its power and becoming complete once again. He told them about Shai, the Animal god of time and fate, and that it and the prismatic butterfly Miles, Cream, and Amy had seen before were one and the same. They were informed of the involvement of the ex-Witchcarters, as well as Wendy Witchcart herself, all old enemies of the teenage fox, and that Seirus had used them and other lifeforms as puppets to regain its power. Khal didn’t fail to mention Silver the Hedgehog, a boy from the distant future with powerful psychokinetic abilities that had played a critical role in the conflict. In fact, it had been none other than Silver who delivered the final blow that ended up completing the revision of the timeline, preventing the seal on the Mystic Orb from being broken and keeping Seirus trapped for the time being.
Any questions that the group came up with about those events, Khal was able to answer. Whether it was about what they’d done or said at certain points in time, the hyena was privy to practically everything. Things began to click into place for some of the members, like how Gadget and Gizmo were sort of drawn towards conversing with Cream and Amy, respectively. This was all new for Lavender and J, the former enthralled with the tale and the latter hastily and simultaneously recording Khal’s exposition while jotting down notes in his phone. And of course, Miles was blown away by the fact that he’d had one hell of an adventure that, even with all of this information, he couldn’t fully recall.
It wasn’t long until they approached the city limits, where Khal returned the flow of time to normal. He motioned for the rest to stop as they arrived at an exceedingly tall tower where part of the Speedway snaked around the outside and went all the way to the top. About a minute later, they spotted the Jackal Squad swiftly moving down the street towards them, halting several meters away from them. Zero then handed his scimitar to Tao and took a few more steps forward, tightly clutching the Sapphire in his right hand.
“You guys stay out of this,” he told the rest of his party, then turned his attention to the teen fox, “your friends, too. This is between you and me, Prower...if anyone else jumps in, I'll send this town to Hell in a hand basket. And none of your other bullsh*t, either, just your rock.”
Miles hesitated for a moment, glancing back at Khal, who gave him a firm nod to silently communicate that he wouldn't let them try, then retrieved the cyan Emerald, gave his utility belt to Gadget, and moved closer to the jackal. “Alright, Zero, if that’s what you want, then you’ll get it.”
“Let’s settle this, freak!”
Everyone else save took a step back as, within the next blink, Miles and Zero rushed at each other so quickly that they produced miniature sonic booms. Their free fists met, the force pushing both of them back a tad, then they sprang high into the air onto the road that wrapped around the tower. The jackal went for a slash with his claws, but the fox flew out of reach using his tails. In response, the Sapphire shined and coated Zero in a wispy blue aura, giving him the ability to levitate and go after his adversary. Miles was so surprised by this that he failed to dodge the axe kick aimed for him, smacking him back down onto the pavement with a grunt. He rolled to the side as his foe came in with a Stomp, then got to his feet and ran further up the spiraling highway.
The Squad’s leader warped in front of him and held his free hand up with its palm facing the teen, firing a blue energy ball with a black core at him. Miles answered with his own cyan-blue Chaos projectile, but was stunned when it was canceled out by Zero’s attack, which kept going and nailed him in the chest, sending him sprawling. He forced himself back forward into an enhanced Spin Dash and slammed hard into the jackal, forcing him to skid back several meters along the asphalt. The bigger canid used his own tail and left arm to block a follow-up Tail Whip, only to find them restrained by those twin limbs as the smaller fellow came in for a gut punch. It hurt a lot more than Zero would’ve liked to admit, but the blow hadn’t quite winded him, as he demonstrated by flinging Miles away with a dark shockwave. After swiftly regaining his senses, the hero used a bit more Chaos Energy to boost himself higher up the looping path, goading his enemy into following.
While their duel continued to genuinely climb higher around the tower, everyone else watched from below. Most were almost entirely focused on the spectacle of a fight between their leaders, but some would steal occasional glances at one another, mostly out of caution. With the relative calm, though, they at least felt safe enough to talk among themselves.
“It’s kinda weird seeing Boss go at it without his sword,” Cress muttered, “but that Sapphire’s something else. That kid’s no joke either, though.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty scary,” Shana replied, “and I don’t just mean the fight.”
Lana grabbed onto one of the tallest jackal’s arms. “Tao, can’t you convince him to...I dunno, dial it back or something?”
“You saw what happened when I tried that in the village,” Tao said as he shrugged himself out of her grip, “how he slaughtered everyone just to spite me.” He shook his head. “He may keep me close and call me Number Two, but there’s no one he hates more than me.”
Having clashed with the two-toned jackal previously, J was intrigued at the bit of information his sensitive ears picked up on. His curiosity peaked during their previous interaction, he daringly decided to get closer to this curious sort of rival he’d made during this whole debacle.
“Why would he hate his second-in-command so much?” he pressed, getting their attention, “surely, you command great respect within the Squad.”
The somewhat lanky canid let out a dour bark. “It doesn’t matter; what the Boss says goes.” He allowed a bitter smile to cross his muzzle. “Besides, at this point, he’d probably kill even his own brother to get what he wants.”
Back with Miles and Zero, who’d just reached the top of the highway around the tower, the former called upon his lucky charm to send a few Cyan Slicers in the latter’s direction. The jackal eluded the attacks with relative ease, then pressed his Sapphire palm against the ground. The fox was in the middle of delivering a Mid-Air Spin Dash when gravity multiplied out of nowhere and pressed him hard into the pavement. Miles struggled for but a second, breaking free when Zero sought to snap the back of his neck with a nasty kick. His gloves caught the jackal’s boot, throwing the bigger male off balance as he rose up and reversed him into the grain. Even with the asphalt to the face, Zero recovered in short order, blue beams firing from his eyes and striking Miles in both halves of his torso.
Despite the pain, the teen twin-tail refused to buckle, twisting his two tails to rush at his enemy even faster than before. Zero tried to rip into his chest with his claws, but to his astonishment, Miles rebuffed him and gave him a kangaroo kick just below the neck. While the jackal gnashed his fangs at the feeling of road rash across his back from the blow, both of his heterochromatic eyes flared brightly. A few chunks of road were displaced from lower on the spiral and warped above the fox’s position, then sent it all down. Miles dodged out of the way handily enough, but that had been Zero’s plan, catching the younger guy with another energy blast and making him crash into the newly made rubble. Just before he could get back up, the teen felt his limbs lock up as he drifted into the air, covered in the same unpleasant energy as the heavily breathing mercenary.
“I changed my mind,” Zero said darkly, drawing his foe closer until he was just a meter in front of him, “I don’t want to kill you anymore. Not directly, anyway.”
Miles grunted and struggled against his bonds, but he could barely even move his head. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to send you somewhere you’ll never get back from!” The jackal held the Sapphire up high. “Die alone and hopeless beyond the end of the universe, and dread what I’ll do to your friends and family next!”
And before he could protest any further, the two-tailed hero vanished from sight with that same unnatural hum the gem gave off whenever using that power. Zero would have laughed uproariously at his victory, but the Sapphire took so much out of him that he passed out shortly afterwards. Tao was by his side within seconds, hefting him over his shoulder and taking the Sapphire in his other hand. Without a word, he whisked himself and the rest of the Jackal Squad out of there and presumably off of Little Planet, leaving the fox’s group shocked, dismayed, and uncertain what exactly to do next.
(???)
When the distortion faded and his sight returned, Miles found himself falling head-first into water. He quickly surfaced and swam over to the nearest bit of land he could find, which appeared to be some ruined and abandoned temple made of sandy yellow stones. From this vantage, he saw that it wasn’t the only partly submerged structure around, as ruins and rubble could be seen beneath the clear surface. And on the subject of the water itself, while it didn’t appear to be more than a handful of meters deep, it extended in every direction like a vast ocean, with what appeared to be oil rigs off in the distance. The entirety of the sky was covered in gray clouds, though plenty of sunlight still got through to illuminate the landscape...or would it be seascape?
Fortunately for him, there was a cluster of Rings close to where he’d ended up, making it easy to restore the Miles Electric. But when he pulled up the GPS to get an idea of where Zero sent him, he was met with an error.
“‘Location data unavailable’?” he repeated out loud, “am in a satellite dead zone or something? Well, let’s try the Emerald Radar, then.”
Switching over to that app, he was pleased that it detected his Chaos Emerald just fine. But when he decreased the magnification to search for other signals, it kept coming up blank. His stomach dropped once he zoomed out as far as he possibly could, and still only the cyan Emerald showed up on screen.
“Where am I?” he asked himself as he slumped onto his backside despondently, “and...how do I get home?”
