STH: The Anti-Mobius Saga Part I

Scourge the Hedgehog and Fiona Fox appear in the alternate dimension thanks to a stolen warp ring they possessed. They had left Mobius in fear of Enerjak

destroying the entire planet.

"Here we are, Fi. Welcome to my home turf." Scourge said.

Fiona analyzed her surroundings with a look of intrigue,

"Wow, it looks just like Mobius."

The green hedgehog grinned,

"It won't when I'm done with it. I got big plans for this place."

This comment made the red fox curious,

"Do these "plans" have anything to do with whatever Sonic told you? You never did tell me what he said."

Scourge freezes up. He tries to think of an answer. An excuse. But he can't.

Instead, he looks at the ground with a scowl and tells his partner the truth,

"Yeah… the chump told me that at the end of the day, we're not so different. What he said kinda made sense and it got me thinkin' about my potential. About what I

can really do. So I'm gonna separate myself from him by becoming something more. Starting with this stupid planet."

The green hedgehog grins again while clenching one fist,

"I'm gonna take over this zone and become king! Then everyone will bow down and give me the respect I deserve!"

Fiona smirks and wraps her hands around Scourge's arm,

"Sounds ambitious. I like." she approved in a seductive tone.

Scourge gives her a sultry smile,

"That's good, sweets. 'Cause I'm gonna need a queen."

Anti-Mobius, the present, Castle Acorn…

'My name is Fiona Fox… and my entire life has been one giant mess… When I was young, Doctor Robotnik had kidnapped me and many others from our families. After

making a robot duplicate of yours truly, he locked me away and left me to rot in a cell. I was so scared, thinking I was going to be there for the rest of my life. But

then, I had a ray of hope when Sonic the Hedgehog promised to rescue me. I waited months for him to come, but he never returned. That's when I acknowledged that

I'd been forgotten and left for dead. So I made my own way out. And after two long and painful years of digging a secret tunnel, I had finally escaped. I tried to find

my family afterwards, but to no avail. I figured they must've moved on without me. At that point, I knew I had to look out for myself, and that I couldn't rely on anyone.

And ever since then it's been nothing but lies and manipulation. Using other people to my advantage became second nature and I continued to do so for a long time.

Then, out of nowhere, the Xorda attacked Mobius and Sonic sacrificed his life to save everyone. That's when all of my bitter feelings towards him went away and he

inspired me to become a "good guy". So I became a Freedom Fighter and stuck with it for a while… that is, until I met him, Scourge the Hedgehog. He convinced me

that the dark path of a villainess was more interesting than being the "vanilla" hero. It also helped that we had a similar outlook on life as well. He seemed to only care

about himself, just like me. He had a rough upbringing, just like me. And he didn't want to rely on others, just like me. And for once in my life, I didn't feel completely

alone. He was fun for me and I felt free around him. I thought I was in love… but then he took me to his zone. He wanted to take over the entire planet and become

king, with me as his queen. I thought it was exciting and acquiesced… but that's when he showed me a different side of himself. He became disgustingly cruel and

merciless as he tried to take over Anti-Mobius, starting with the Anti-Freedom Fighters. He wanted them to take on new appearances and names, but they refused. In

response, he beat them into submission until they obeyed. After that, they along with me became Scourge's back-up as he conquered the whole planet in a matter of

days. Anyone who opposed him was either mercilessly beaten or killed. He's destroyed tons of villages and hurt countless people... nobody stood a chance against him

and it was horrifying to watch. When he noticed that I was disturbed by his behavior, he started to become abusive towards me too. Because of this I'm forced to

comply in fear of getting hurt further... Now I realize what a horrible mistake I've made. I should've never left the Freedom Fighters. They were real friends that

actually cared about me, but I took them for granted because of my past feelings of abandonment. At the moment, Scourge plans on invading Mobius-Prime using the

globe posts that we stole from Dr. Kintobor. This... may be my only chance to escape. If I can somehow talk to the Freedom Fighters privately, I might be able to

form an alliance with them, and bring Scourge down. But will they even listen to me…?'

"Yo, babe! Have those two dorks gotten the globe posts up and running yet!?" Scourge yelled from the throne room.

He broke Fiona away from her thoughts, causing her to yell irately,

"Let me check, hon!"

The red fox walks into the lab room, which is in total shambles. There, Boomer and Miles (the Anti-Rotor and Tails) were busy setting up the stolen globe posts.

"How's it looking, you two?" she asked.

"Almost done, Fiona." Boomer reported.

"Yes, we should arrive on schedule." Miles said.

Fiona states in a worried tone,

"Be sure to finish quickly. You don't want to keep him waiting."

She then turns to Patch and Alicia (Anti-Antoine and Sally), asking,

"Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yes./Oui." they replied.

"Remember the plan you guys. We can't screw this up." Fiona whispered.

Everyone nods silently in agreement.

Fiona returns to the throne room shortly afterwards.

"How're they lookin', babe?" Scourge asked.

The vixen gave him a fake smirk,

"They'll be ready to go when you give the order… your highness."

"They better if they know what's good for 'em. The last thing those punks wanna do is tick off the King of Moebius." he threatened, leaning back in his throne.

Mobius, New Mobotropolis…

Sonic and Sally are seen relaxing near the Lake of Rings. Sonic was lying against a tree with his hands behind his head and Sally was in between his legs with her

head resting on his chest. She had her arms and legs crossed and had her blue vest off as well, revealing the black crop top underneath. Both of them were enjoying

the small amount of leisure time they had, relaxing in silence. The couple was smiling gently with their eyes closed, enjoying each other's warmth and company. No

words were necessary. The wind blows softly on both of them, causing Sally's hair and Sonic's quills to dance in the breeze.

Sally opens her eyes halfway and breaks the silence after what felt like ten minutes,

"This is nice." she said, still smiling softly.

"Yeah, I guess." Sonic agreed, keeping his smile too.

Sally looks up into his emerald eyes with a smirk,

"You know, it's not like you to just sit around and relax. I'm so used to you goofing off with Tails during your free time."

The Blue Blur smiles flirtatiously at the princess,

"Normally I would, but we haven't been able to chill in a while. That, and I owe you some alone time anyways, darlin'."

Sonic starts messing with her hair, massaging the back of her head while doing so. Sally loves it when he plays with her hair (though she's too stubborn to outright

state that to him). She hums in response to the pleasant feeling as the tension in her muscles wither away.

"It's refreshing to hear that from you, Blue. You certainly know how to make me feel extraordinary."

Sonic shrugs and then continues his massage,

"Meh, I try. You're one of the very few people that I can be a little mushy around. I may not be the best when it comes to this stuff, but I'm improving."

"And that you have Sonic Hedgehog, kissing included. Now if only I can get you to stop recklessly charging into battle." she teased, poking his nose softly.

"C'mon, Sal. There's nothing wrong with trusting your instincts every now and then. Besides, I don't always rush in... just fifty percent of the time." he argued, giving

her a goofy grin afterwards.

The princess shakes her head in amusement and checks the time,

"Well, it looks like it's time for me to go. Tails wanted me to meet with him at Freedom HQ."

The chipmunk puts her vest back on and tries to stand up afterwards. But Sonic, still behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and playfully pulls her back down to

his chest. He then rests his chin on her left shoulder and looks into her eyes from the side, giving her a suave grin.

"Nuh-uh, we still got a couple more minutes."

"Sonic, stop. You're being silly." Sally chortled, holding in a giggle and attempting to escape his grasp.

The hedgehog closes his eyes halfway,

"Make me." he challenged.

Sally stops resisting and rolls her eyes,

"Shouldn't you be getting ready, too? You still have a mission at New Megaopolis and you're supposed to meet with the Chaotix."

Sonic smiles sheepishly,

"Oops, kinda forgot about that." he said, releasing his grip on her.

"Why am I not surprised…" the princess stated flatly.

They both stand up and smile softly at each other.

"Alright, guess I'll catch ya later, Sal." Sonic told her.

Sally nods,

"Good luck on your mission, Blue."

They were about to head their separate ways, but Sally turns back towards Sonic.

"Oh, and Sonic?" she started.

Sonic turns his head towards her with an eyebrow raised,

"Hmmm…?"

The princess gives him a look of consideration,

"Please be careful out there."

Sonic smiles and walks back up to her. He then grabs both of her hands and kisses her, to which she gladly returns.

"I will, Sal. No need to worry." he reassured.

The hedgehog winks at her, causing the chipmunk to blush lightly.

Ten minutes later, the very cheerful Sally reaches Freedom HQ with Tails waiting outside.

Tails smiles at the sight of the princess and runs up to hug her,

"Hi, Sally! Thanks for showing up. Me and Rotor have something to show you."

Sally hugs back,

"Lead the way then."

They walk inside and make their way towards the computer lab. Sally sees that the star posts have been activated and became curious.

"Hiya, Sally." Rotor said.

"Hello, Rotor." Sally replied.

She points at the posts,

"What's going on here?"

"The star posts turned on by themselves not too long ago, and we're trying to figure out why." Tails explained.

Sally entered a thinking pose,

"That's odd…the star posts lead to the special zone only, correct?"

"Correct. But according to Nicole, this portal leads to an unknown dimension. We haven't gone through it yet because she said that there could be something

dangerous on the other side." Rotor clarified.

A voice is then heard coming from the portal,

"And she's right, we're all pretty dangerous."

An arm comes out of the portal and blasts the three Freedom Fighters with the sonic cannon on it's wrist.

Shortly, a purple walrus with cybernetics steps out of the portal.

"Anti-Rotor?" Rotor asked, picking himself up.

Boomer sneered,

"Nope, I go by Boomer. And after enhancing myself with cybernetics, I'm the superior version of you now."

Rotor smirks,

"Superior, huh? We'll just see about that!" he yelled, charging towards the doppelganger.

"Let's back him up, Tails!" Sally ordered.

But the two were ambushed by their own evil twins before they could help.

Tails eyes widen,

"Anti-Tails!?"

Miles forcefully pins Tails to the ground,

"Don't you dare call me that, you swine! I only respond to Miles!"

Princess Alicia wrapped her electric whip around Sally, keeping her stunned on the ground, and Boomer uses his sonic cannons to get the upper hand on Rotor, blasting

him against the wall multiple times.

"Patch, tell Fiona that the area is secure." Alicia ordered.

"Oui, ma princesse." Patch replied before turning to the portal.

"Did you hear zat, madam?"

Fiona peaks her head out,

"I heard. Scourge is still getting ready so keep up the act if you want to live. He can't know that we're plotting against him." she whispered.

Patch, Boomer, and Alicia nod in response.

"Suppression Squad, press forward!" Fiona commanded.

Bunnie, Antoine, and Amy hear the ruckus from downstairs and three head upstairs to see what's going on.

Meanwhile, in New Megaopolis…

Sonic, along with Knuckles and the Chaotix, have made major progress in their mission to destroy an important communication outpost. If they can demolish this

specific outpost, Eggman will lose communication with half of the continent.

"Press forward, Chaotix! We got 'em on the run!" Vector ordered.

Sonic was fighting alongside Knuckles and they both take out two Dark Egg Legion tanks with a spin-dash and fist slam respectively.

"Man, Sally was worrying about nothing. These new Egg Legion goons are barely putting up a fight. Heck, Scratch and Grounder were bigger threats than these clowns

in black pajamas." Sonic jested, chuckling afterwards.

He looks at Knuckles, seeing his very serious and uneasy demeanor.

"What's with the angst, Rad Red? You've been acting weird this entire mission."

Knuckles growls softly,

"It's because I'm responsible for the Dark Egg Legion."

Sonic let out an annoyed sigh,

"Oh, come on, Knuckles. Enough with the self-loathing."

"If I hadn't taken their cybernetics away, they wouldn't have been forced to make an alliance with Eggman! This all happened because of what I did as Enerjak!"

the echidna yelled.

"Get outta here with that nonsense, Knux. Your mind was being controlled by that creepy dude in white bandages; it wasn't your fault. Also, these guys decided to sell

themselves out. It was their choice, not yours." Sonic counseled, taking out a couple more infantry with another spin-dash.

"Still, they're almost all that is left of my people. I have to at least try and help them... Now cover my back! I need to get to their leader!" Knuckles commanded,

knocking a few badniks out of his way.

Sonic waves at Mighty,

"You heard the man, Mighty! Let's back him up!"

Mighty acknowledges Sonic with a thumbs up and a smirk.

Back at Freedom HQ…

Patch and Alicia cautiously leave the computer room.

"You better cover my back, Patch! There's bound to be more Freedom Fighters in this place!" Alicia yelled.

"Calme-toi, ma princesse. We can handle ze others no problem." Patch reassured.

Suddenly, Amy appears from one side of the hallway and smashes the wall next to Patch.

Amy smiles mischievously at the evil coyote,

"Hi. We weren't expecting any visitors. Think you can handle me "no problem"?

"Eep! Va-t'en, monstre!" Patch screamed while running away.

The raging hedgehog gives chase,

"Get back over here so I can smash you!"

Alicia face palms,

"Well, there goes my cover. Idiot…"

Bunnie sneaks up on Alicia from the other side of the hallway.

"Y'all got some nerve comin' here uninvited." she said, pinning Alicia's arm behind her back.

Boomer then comes out of the computer room and ambushes Bunnie after dealing with Rotor. He shoots his sonic cannons, knocking her away.

The cybernetic walrus towered over her with a grin,

"So sorry we came unannounced. Perhaps we should have given you all a warning."

"Get away from my wife!" Antoine yelled.

He went after Boomer, trying to cut up his cybernetic cords. The walrus dodges frantically in response, knowing how vital the cords were.

Back in the computer room, Tails is still grappling with Miles, and Rotor was on the ground after taking so many blasts from Boomer's cannons. Sally is finally able to

overcome the pain of Alicia's electric whip. She activates her ring blades and cuts the whip off of her. When the princess stands up, she pants heavily as the pain fades

away.

When the princess looked to her side, she saw an injured Rotor fidgeting on the ground,

"Rotor!"

Sally rushes to his side and helps him up,

"Are you okay?"

Rotor smirks,

"These are just small bruises. I'll heal."

The walrus tries to walk but then falls to his knees,

"Agh, my back!" he grumbled.

The fighting between both groups started to annoy Fiona, who was standing next to the star posts.

'I don't know how much longer we can keep this facade up. Should I tell her now? What if she doesn't listen? What if Scourge hears me?!' she pondered.

Sally noticed the vixen and grew a scowl,

"What's the meaning of this, Fiona? You aren't from Anti-Mobius, so what are you doing with our evil twins?" she asked, startling the fox of her thoughts.

No answer was given... Instead, Scourge steps out of the portal to greet everyone.

"The King of Moebius has finally arrived ladies and gents! Now bow down to me or suffer a major beatin' from my Suppression Squad!" he announced.

Sally and Rotor's eyes widen at the hedgehogs sudden appearance.

'Oh, no! He was supposed to come on my signal!' Fiona screamed in her thoughts.

Sally snaps out of her shocked state and immediately rushes towards the computer, knowing how dangerous Scourge is.

The princess then speaks into the mic,

"Nicole! Send word to Sonic that we need him back at the HQ immediately! It's an emergency!"

"Understood, Sally." Nicole acknowledged.

Back in New Megaopolis…

"Everybody clear a path for our red friend! He needs to talk to the lady in charge!" Sonic yelled.

Knuckles, with the help of his teammates, is able to avoid all the infantry and get to Lien-Da's egg mobile. He then channels the chaos force in order to levitate up to

her.

"Kommissar." he stated.

Lien-Da frowns,

"Guardian..."

"Lien-Da, there's no reason for us to fight anymore. Just leave the Eggman Empire and give the Dark Legion the chance at peace they deserve. Do the right thing, like

your ancestors before you would." Knuckles advised.

Lien-Da blows off his advice and states,

"My ancestors never knew what was best for us and neither do you, so stop trying to make amends with me. You've done more than enough for all of us"

"Listen, working for Eggman will only make things worse for you and the others! You're all expendable to him and he'll keep using you until every last echidna is

gone! Please, end this now while you still can!" the echidna pleaded.

Lien-Da continues to ignore Knuckles and radios in with Snively,

"Snively! Where are those reinforcements I asked for earlier?!"

"There are no reinforcements! You're the standing army now!" Snively yelled through the comm.

She growls loudly,

"Dark Egg Legion! Fall back! We've lost this position!" she ordered while flying away.

Knuckles hovers back down to the ground, landing between Sonic and Julie-Su with an exasperated grimace,

"I don't get it… Why won't she listen to me?"

Julie-Su puts an arm around him,

"She was never much of a listener, hon... Never much of a sister too, now that I think about it."

Sonic smiles and put a hand on his rival's other shoulder,

"You'll get through to her eventually, Knux. I have a feeling she'll be more open minded once we finish Robuttnik off for good. Now stop brooding so much. That's

supposed to be Shadow's job."

"Alright! This sector is now secure!" Vector cheered before turning to Julie-Su.

"How's our second team doing, 'Su?"

"Let me check in with them... Saffron, do you read me? How are you and the boys doing?" the pink echidna asked through the microphone on her cybernetic dread.

In the communications outpost, Charmy and Ray are seen putting their last few explosives all over the interior.

"We hear you, Julie-Su! We're done setting all the charges in this tower." Saffron reported.

"Excellent work, you guys! Now get out of there quickly and meet us at the rendezvous point." Julie-Su ordered.

"Yes, ma'am! Come on, boys!" Saffron yelled.

The female bee scouts ahead and spots Lien-Da approaching in the distance with the Dark Egg Legion behind her.

Saffron became scared and quickly radios in with Julie-Su again,

"U-Umm...Julie-Su? I-I don't think we'll be able to meet with you guys! Lien-Da is coming right towards the tower as we speak! We're going to need back-up!"

"It's okay, don't panic! You three just sit tight! We're on our way!" Julie-Su reassured.

Espio started getting worried,

"Are the others alright?" he asked.

Julie-Su shakes her head,

"Apparently, Lien-Da is retreating to the communications outpost. Saffron and the others need us there now."

At this moment, Sonic receives Nicole's message on his wrist communicator,

"And that's not a good thing. I just got an emergency message from Nicole telling me that Sal and the others need help back at the HQ."

Knuckles smirks,

"Then go ahead and leave, True Blue. We've got everything covered here."

"Yeah, these goons aren't that tough!" Mighty agreed, pounding his fists together.

"Cool. Then I'll see you all back at New Mobotropolis! Later, Chaotix!" Sonic yelled. He waved good-bye and dashed in Freedom HQ's direction.

After that, the Chaotix start running until they get to the outpost Lien-Da was approaching. As they run, an egg-shaped ship flies past them.

Vector glances at the ship with confusion,

"Reinforcements already?"

Knuckles was confused as well,

"No, it can't be. Snively told Lien-Da that there were no reinforcements at all."

At the communication outpost, Lien-Da and her Dark Egg Legion surround tower.

"Kommisar, a ship approaches! Snively must have answered your request!" one of the infantry points out.

Lien-Da turns her Egg-Mobile towards the egg-shaped ship,

"Hmph! I guess Snively lied to me then."

The ship opens up and Dimitri steps out with a giant, robotic, insect-like body that his tentacles had been plugged into.

"Snively had nothing to do with it, grand-daughter. I came on my own accord to ensure the safety of my people. I will not let you lead them to failure. As of right now

I'm taking control of this operation. Do you understand?"

His words made Lien-Da seethe in anger,

"Yes…sir." she complied reluctantly.

Dimitri turns towards the army of legionnaires and gave a small speech,

"Hear my words, Dark Egg Legion! We must protect this outpost at all costs! It is a very crucial part of Robotnik's city! Do not hesitate to fire at Knuckles and Julie-Su!

They are the enemies! Now stand with me, and together we'll drive the opposition away!"

All of the legionnaires cheer in agreement.

Knuckles and the Chaotix watch the army from uphill as they prepare an attack.

Everyone was dead serious with the exception of Vector.

The crocodile instead, had a wide grin,

"Looks like it's time to get our hands dirty once more, Chaotix. We can't let their numbers intimidate us. We've got this!"

The others seemed to lighten up a bit, but Knuckles and Julie-Su were still frowning. They hate that they're forced to fight against so many of their own kind.

At the Great Wastes (Formerly known as Knothole)…

Sonic is mere seconds from reaching Freedom HQ and soon skids to a stop in front of the door.

"Alright. Time to see what's going on." he said.

The Blue Blur kicks the door open,

"Did anybody call for a blue hedgehog?!"

"Thank the walkers! Sonic, in here!" Sally yelled from the computer lab.

Sonic rushes into the computer lab and sees the Freedom Fighters on one side and the Suppression Squad on the other.

"'Bout time you showed up, wuss. We were just about to start the party without you." Scourge said, leaning against the star posts with a sinister grin.

Sonic goes up the green hedgehog, growing his own cocky grin,

"I'm assuming this is your scheme to take over our base. Right, Scourge?"

Scourge pointed a thumb at himself,

"That's "King" Scourge to you, Sonic."

"Ha! King of what? King of being dense?" the blue hedgehog jested.

Scourge kicks Sonic, knocking him away slightly,

"King of Moebius, you dork!"

Sonic gets a kick back on Scourge's arm,

"Oh, I get it. So that makes you a royal pain."

The Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad watch the two hedgehogs rumble in the middle from opposite sides.

"No, it makes me superior! Remember what you told me a while back?" Scourged asked.

"I've said plenty of things to y-oww" Sonic starts but gets interrupted by Scourge's punch to his chest.

"You told me that we're the same dude at the end of the day. That all it would take for either of us, would be to lean a little in the other direction." he explained,

landing another punch on Sonic's face and then grabbing him by the neck.

"What you said made sense... you got me thinkin', 'if he's the Hero of Mobius, then what does that make me'?"

The green hedgehog flings Sonic at the Freedom Fighters as he continues his rant,

"So I went back to my zone and conquered the whole stinkin' planet in a couple days. Now I'm not just you're "evil twin" anymore, Blue. I'm Scourge, King of a bold

new Moebius, and your world is gonna fall to my Suppression Squad."

Sally helps Sonic up and the Blue Blur grins at his other faker,

"Dude, it doesn't matter what you do. You're still just a lame recolor in the long run. Now beat it while you still can, 'cause you're messing with the Hero of Mobius, and

the Freedom Fighters!"

"We're not goin' anywhere! Suppression Squad! Attack!" Scourge ordered.

Both teams charge at each other and then clash. However Rotor couldn't fight since he was still injured from Boomer's sonic cannon blasts.

Sonic handled Scourge, Sally handled Alicia, Tails handled Miles, Antoine handled Patch, Bunnie handled Boomer, and Amy handled Fiona.

Miles swings his tails multiple times, trying to knock Tails over,

"The way you follow that blue cretin is sickening. You're nothing but a lapdog."

Tails dodges his attacks and spin-dashes straight into his chest, slamming him against the wall,

"I may look up to Sonic, but I can hold my own just fine."

Antoine and Patch are about to engage in a saber duel.

"Sur ses gardes, scélérat." Antoine snarled, gritting his teeth.

Patch's evil grin appeared,

"L'amener sur!"

Boomer is trying to blast Bunnie with his sonic cannons.

"Tell me, Boomer. Why would ya give up bein' flesh n' blood?" Bunnie asked, dodging both Boomer's cannon shot and his follow-up punch.

"Why wouldn't I? These cybernetics have made me much more powerful!" he answered as he tries smashing her.

Amy is busy fighting a very conflicted Fiona, swinging her hammer multiple times with rage.

"I can't believe you! First you betray the Freedom Fighters, and now your own world?!" Amy screeched.

All Fiona did was continue dodging, being reluctant to fight back,

'This is terrible! What am I supposed to do now?! If I reveal our plan here, then Scourge will maim me and the others! I have no choice but to stay loyal until I can find

a way to talk to Sally or Sonic privately…' she thought.

Rotor watches everybody fight from the chair next to Nicole's monitor.

The walrus was furious,

"Ugh...I feel so useless right now. I want to help, but those slams against the wall dislocated something in my back."

Nicole glanced at her friend with a sympathetic smile,

"We'll find a solution to your back problem once this is over, Rotor. I promise."

Scourge and Alicia charge towards Sonic and Sally from both sides. The royal couple stands back to back, getting ready to switch opponents as a surprise move.

Sally smirks,

"Sorry to call you back so soon, Sonic."

"Don't sweat it, Sal." Sonic replied.

Sally then jumps towards Scourge and Sonic spin-dashes underneath her.

"We had everything wrapped up, anyways."

Sonic hits Alicia with the spin-dash, knocking her against the wall and Sally had intercepted Scourge in the air with a hard kick to the chin. Her kick caused him to bang

his head against the ceiling.

"That's good to know. As you can see, we really need you here."

Sonic's smug smile appeared,

"Heh, as usual." he teased.

The princess nudges his shoulder,

"Watch the ego, mister." she teased back, causing her partner to chuckle.

The Blue Blur stops moving and turns towards Sally,

"But seriously, the Chaotix should be alright. Those Dark Egg troops are total pushovers."

New Megaopolis, at the communication outpost…

Knuckles and the Chaotix look down at Dimitri and his legion as they surround the tower that Charmy, Saffron, and Ray were stuck in.

"Saffron told me that Charmy and Ray had all the explosives set up. We have to get those three out of there, fast." Julie-Su reminded everyone.

"Indeed, we must be swift. Is everyone ready?" Espio asked.

"You bet we are!" Mighty cheered.

"Alright, Chaotix! It's time to-" Vector started but was cut off by a yelling Dimitri.

"Guardian, why do you persist on attacking this former metropolitan? You have already done a significant amount of damage to Robotnik's city as Enerjak. Are you not

satisfied by that?" he asked.

Knuckles freezes up, not knowing what to reply with.

"It might not be his fault entirely, grandfather. Maybe he's just following the Republic of Acorn's orders like a good little servant." Lien-Da said.

"Excellent point, my grand-daughter. All of Angel Island's enemies have been demolished because of your time as Enerjak, yet you remain here. It seems that you are

rather rapacious." Dimitri lectured.

The red echidna finally snaps,

"Don't you dare try and paint me as the bad guy! You're the one that sold out our people to Robotnik!"

Dimitri scoffed,

"I grow tired of these family arguments! I've had to deal with bickering over who started what for hundreds of years! I will not tolerate it anymore! Dark Egg Legion!

Fire!"

Dimitri and his legion fire a barrage of laser blasts at the Chaotix, forcing the group to jump behind cover.

Vector stared at Knuckles, who still had seemed troubled,

"Knux, I know you're still upset about all that Enerjak jazz... but these dudes pledged their allegiance to Robotnik. Right now, Ray, Charmy and Saffron still need our

help. They're more important and so is our mission."

Knuckles tried to pull himself together, reminding himself that his friends are in danger.

He smirks faintly,

"Okay, let's finish this job and save our team."

Vector grins and punches the echidna's arm playfully,

"That's the Knux I know!"

The crocodile then turns to his team,

"C'mon, Chaotix! It's time to clean house!"

All of them jump from their cover and down towards the outpost, ready to fight.

Back at Freedom HQ…

Scourge recovers from hitting his head on the ceiling but Sonic hits him with another spin-dash.

"Keep up the pressure team!"

The green hedgehog became extremely agitated as he picked up his crown,

"Suppression Squad! If you don't step your game up right now, I'm gonna beat you down and make sure you'll never walk again!" he threatened.

All of the Suppression Squad members were shaking in fear. They immediately attack the Freedom Fighters all at once, hoping to please their king.

"For ze king!" Patch yelled.

Tails and Miles grapple yet again.

"This time you're going down, charlatan!" Miles threatened.

"You're the one that's going down, poser!" Tails replied.

Sally confronts Alicia with a smirk on her face,

"What happened, Alicia? Did you get removed from your throne?"

"It's none of your business! Besides, I could care less about my title." Alicia answered, taking out her spare whip and wrapping it around Sally's arm.

"Another whip? I don't think so." Sally said.

The princess activates her yellow ring blades once again and cuts the whip up.

Her doppelganger became furious,

"So that's what you used to destroy my electric whip… Whatever, I always did prefer fisticuffs!" she yelled while throwing a punch.

Elsewhere in the lab, Antoine and Bunnie were hiding behind some computer panels, taking a breather.

"Okay, Sugar-twan. Ah think we should switch dancin' partners for a lil bit. You take Boomer and ah'll handle Patch." Bunnie suggested.

Antoine had a bitter scowl,

"Non. Patch ees mine."

The coyote tries to stand up, but was held back by his wife,

"Wait a sec, Antoine. I know everything he's done to the both of us, but you can't get caught up in revenge."

Antoine grabs her organic hand,

"Eet's not revenge, ma chéri. He ees responsible for mon père's death and nearly ruined the integrity I worked so hard for. I cannot allow him to harm you too." he

reassured.

Patch and Boomer unfortunately hear Antoine's last sentence and separate the two by surprise.

Patch's grin grew broad,

"I like ze way you think, my pathetic twin."

While Boomer holds down Antoine, Patch prepares to slit Bunnie's throat.

Thankfully, Sonic stops them both in the nick of time with a spin-dash,

"Nope, not happening creeps!"

Scourge gets a surprise spin dash on Sonic,

"Gah!" he yelled, falling on his back.

The green hedgehog laughed as he towered over the Blue Blur,

"You don't get it, do you, Blue? I'm king now, so you kneel to me!"

"Leave him alone!" Amy shouted, jumping towards Scourge with her hammer.

Scourge intercepts Amy in the air with a kick to her chest,

"Get outta here, ya nut! I don't need another stalker!"

"Ah, Amy!" Sonic yelped.

The Blue Blur trips Scourge and jumps up to catch her,

"You alright? That was a pretty hard hit." he asked.

Amy had a livid expression,

"*cough* I'm fine. I'll be sure to make him pay for that kick."

Tails flies towards Amy with her hammer,

"You dropped this, Amy."

The rosy hedgehog smiles and takes her hammer back,

"Thanks, Tails."

She then immediately went after Scourge.

'This is getting outta hand. I hope the Chaotix are having an easier time than we are.' Sonic thought.

At New Megaopolis…

The Dark Egg Legion is failing to hold the front line as their numbers dwindle little by little.

"Mighty, Vector! You're with me! Let's tear that scrap heap of Dimitri's apart!" Knuckles yelled.

The two teamates follow the echidna and jump onto Dimitri with him. Knuckles smashes both arms off of the insect body while Vector tears the spine and abdomen

apart. Finally, Mighty destroys all of the mech's legs.

"Snively, we're getting flanked right now! Tell Eggman to send us any support he has left!" Lien-Da snarled.

"There's no one left! You're the standing army at the moment! It's your problem now!" Snively scolded through the comm once more.

Espio throws shurikens at Lien-Da's egg-mobile and Julie-Su follows up with a laser blast, causing Lien-Da's ship to erupts in flames and fall to the ground.

"Saffron, do you read me? You and the boys are clear!" Julie-Su ordered.

Saffron, Ray, and Charmy fly out of the tower and Saffron presses the detonator, blowing the outpost to kingdom come.

"Damn it! We've lost! Dark Egg Legion, retreat to the inner city, now!" Lien-Da commanded.

"We'll be better prepared for you next time, guardian." Dimitri growled before retreating with his grand-daughter.

Knuckles looks at his team, smiling proudly,

"Now that's what I call a grand slam! Way to go, Chaotix!" he cheered, wrapping one arm around Julie-Su.

"We should return to Freedom HQ quickly, Knux. Remember that there's still trouble happening over there." Julie-Su said.

The brawl continues in Freedom HQ's lab and the fighting was beginning to cause a lot of collateral damage…

This upset Sonic and making him clench his fists,

"I'm getting real close to losing my cool. This battle is wrecking the lab and we just finished patching things up from the invasion."

Tails had an anxious expression,

"We aren't making any progress, either. Everyone is too evenly matched."

Sonic yells out to Sally,

"Yo, Sal! We could really use a plan of action!"

The princess had her own look of irritation,

'This is getting us nowhere. We need to regroup with the Chaotix.' she thought.

"Everyone, fall back to the hallway!" she ordered.

Everybody follows her through the door, with Bunnie helping Rotor out.

"Bunnie, can you put a force-field on that door? We need some extra time." Sally requested.

"Ah sure can." Bunnie confirmed, changing her arm into a force-field generator and aiming it at the lab's entrance.

Sally faces the others,

"Listen up, Freedom Fighters. We're falling back to New Mobotropolis."

Sonic's eyes widened,

"Huh?! You're kidding, right?"

"I'm kidding wrong. We need to rally with the Chaotix and organize a different plan of attack." Sally answered.

The Blue Blur crosses his arms and turns his head stubbornly,

"No way! We're not leaving this place behind!"

Sally lets out an annoyed sigh and jabs a finger into his chest,

"Sonic, if we perpetuate this fight, then Freedom HQ will get torn apart! The strength of the Supression Squad is too similar to our own! Not only that, but Rotor is

injured and can't even defend himself! We NEED to fall back!"

Bunnie starts getting antsy and peaks behind her,

"Are y'all done yet? The shield ain't gonna last much longer."

Sonic closes his eyes and growls,

"Fine!" he agreed begrudgingly.

Boomer shoots his sonic cannons, pushing Bunnie back. The cyborg rabbit along with Amy and Antoine all exit out the front door with Tails flying Rotor out shortly after.

"Sonic, let's go!" Sally yelled before leaving the HQ.

Scourge comes out of the lab with a triumphant grin,

"What's wrong, wuss? You scared of fightin' this 'lame recolor'?"

Sonic glares at Scourge from the HQ's entrance,

"This is only a temporary loan, jerk. I'll be back to collect your rent." he snarled before closing the door.

"Hahaha! That's what I thought!" Scourge yelled.

Fiona looked like she was about to cry,

'There goes my only chance of escaping from this maniac...' she thought.

Outside, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters start making their way to New Mobotropolis and end up bumping into the Chaotix halfway there.

Knuckles glanced at the battered Freedom Fighters with concern,

"What the heck happened to you guys?!"

"We've been ambushed by Scourge and his Suppression Squad. They managed to get here from Anti-Mobius using our star-posts." Sally answered.

Julie-Su notices Rotor was slumped on the ground,

"What wrong with Rotor?" she asked.

Rotor was staring at the ground,

"Something in my back got dislocated, so I can't really fight right now. If I didn't get hurt, I would've been able to provide the extra muscle we needed to take Scourge

down…"

"It isn't your fault, Rotor. They had the element of surprise on their side." Sally counseled.

"So, is Freedom HQ lost?" Vector asked.

"Yes, unfortunately…" Sally answered, crossing her arms defensively and averting her eyes to the side.

Sonic frowned and shook his head,

"No, it's not. Scourge and his cronies are just sleeping over. Tomorrow, we'll be back to kick them out."