GammaTron: *looking under the couch* SZ, what did you do with the TNT? We can't start the chapter off without setting off the TNT.

SZ: NO TNT! ...Besides we may need it as an escape plan in case IDW Eggman decides to spill the Metal Virus in here...or better yet through 'em at the fat idiot before he could use it.

GT: Oh, I asked Z0 to...talk...with the guy. *holds up a tablet, showing Z0 hanging IDW Eggman by the foot over an active volcano with bombs stabbed into Eggman's legs* Now seriously, where is the TNT?

SZ:...*taps a button, causing the floor to pen up...and reveal hordes of tnt boxes undernaeth* N. Gin…went insane with hiding them...we own nothing aside from original content...so start us off GT

GT: Yes! *throws a match at it...only for the pile of TNT to fall over, revealing it to be a prop* ...GT'S GETTING UPSET! *stomps out*

SZ:...huh….guess it was that e-*hears beeping from the boxes*...motherf-

*BOOOM!*

SZ:...*coughs up smoke*well...that's over w-

GT: *over the intercom. Plays a sound clip* TACTICAL NUKE! *a panel above SZ opens, dropping a nuke from it*

SZ: GOD DAMN IT!

*FWOOM!*


[SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETE. REACTIVATING]

A lone red optic lit up. Multiple calculations rapidly went by to the owner of the optic as Shockwave sat up. Pressure systems detected something on his head and he put a hand to it, feeling a band of sorts on it. Logic dictated that he was repaired and this was a part of the repair process.

"And that is that," he looked down to see Greymatter on his blaster, "You're welcome, by the way."

"...If you are repairing it, logic would lead me to one of two conclusions: either I am captured for interrogation or…" he looked over at Lien-Da, wearing a metal, black, and red collar on her neck.

"An EMP wave knocked out every electronic in the area, and there's someone here that can manipulate machines, and we're more or less going to be captured by that person's soldiers," Lien-Da explained.

"Where is Project Predacon?" Shockwave questioned.

"Over there," Lien-Da thumbed over at the five parts of the combiner, all opened up in several spots, showing missing pieces.

"Had to use parts from them to repair parts of you that got burnt out by that EMP effect," Greymatter informed, "That energy is still in the air, so I also had to make that band on your head and her collar to let you two move about."

"Noted…" Shockwave nodded.

"Tch. Gotta wear one, too, but for Positive Chaos Energy," Ragna snorted, tapping a black and red band on his Azure Grimoire limb, "For some reason, the positive stuff messes up with my arm and eye. And only reason we know that if because Ben kept having to rework this thing for all kinds of energy until I could move my arm and see through my eye."

"It's true," Greymatter chimed in.

"...And what of this invading force?" Shockwave questioned before the bushes nearby rustled and several of Kragok's troops ran out, blasters in hands and aimed at them.

"...I told ya we should have been moving," Sonic frowned.

"Check. Encountered several unknowns, one automaton still functioning, five currently offline and some parts salvaged-most likely for the functioning automaton-, one Overlander with five fingers on his hands, one frog-like Mobian, one Hedgehog, and one Hedgehog-Fox hybrid," one of the soldiers noted in a woman's voice.

"Boss, you see what I am?" another questioned in a male voice, looking at Lien-Da.

"Confirmed, but impossible," the first replied, "Body was cremated as per traditions."

"My Zone Double here is dead?" Lien-Da asked.

"Zone Double. Confirmed, this is her but from another Zone," the leader of the troops corrected, "Begin capture opera…" a hissing noise went off and they looked at another soldier...who had a glowing blue sphere hissing on their helmet, "Johnson, sticky grenade!"

"?!" the soldier tensed and ripped off their helmet, revealing an Echidna with his dreadlocks all made of machinery, before throwing it away while jumping away just as…

*BOOM!*

"It's the Nocturnus!" another shouted before a green laser hit them, knocking them over, "Gah!"

From the trees behind the group, several figures in pure white and silver versions of the others' armor raced out, firing green lasers from blasters and throwing several more sticky grenades at them. One in a slender version of the armor skidded to a halt by the group.

"This way!" they ordered in a female voice, "Come with us if you want to avoid them!"

"Wait, what? What's going on here?" Lien-Da demanded before she and Shockwave was lifted up and over the shoulders of a large burly one and went off back into the jungle, "H-hey!".

"Who are you guys?" Sonic asked as the armored female fired a few more times at Kragok's troops.

"The Nocturnus Clan," she replied before throwing a canister at Kragok's troops, letting it land in the middle of them before it exploded in a cloud of smoke, "Go, go, go! Fall back! Do not let them get these guys for Kragok!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the other Nocturnus replied.

'WHAT THE HELL DID THAT ASSHOLE GET US INTO?!' Ragna mentally roared.


"Okay, dudette...I think I got it working," Manic noted, moving away from Julie-Su's arm while putting away a screwdriver, "Give it a try."

"...Seems to be working…" Julie-Su muttered, flexing her arm a bit, "Still...better not risk trying to move anything heavy."

"What was that?" Sonia asked.

"Something happened with the Master Emerald," Tikal explained, her form flickering a bit still but not as bad as when the pulse had happened, "Whatever it did has left a field of Chaos Energy around the entire island."

"Tch. Damn it! What the hell, Chaos?! You had one job, one job!" Knuckles growled, pacing before a shadow came over them, "...The robot's back online, isn't it?"

"...I hate alien tech," Sticks cringed.

"Quandary: What is this place? Quandary: What is designation?" Omega asked, looking around, its optics a sharp emerald.

"That pulse must have reset him," Sonia realized.

"Oh phew...No berserk Omega," Julie-Su sighed in relief before looking at Omega, "Your name is E-101 Omega. We're allies."

"Designation registered: E Series 101 codenamed Omega. Allies registered," Omega stated before pulling out his sword and moved before them, "Scanners picking up multiple signatures. Tech Level: 4. Defensive Systems: Operational."

"...Why would…" Manic began.

"He was on our side back in my Original Zone, so trust me...he's someone you WANT on your side," Julie-Su explained before the foliage was moved by Kragok's troops coming out.

"Check. One automaton, one badger, two hedgehogs, and three e…" the leader of them spoke in a male voice before seeing Julie-Su and Tikal, "...three echidnas. One echidna is unknown. One is Julie-Su, possible Zone Double. Final is the daughter of Chief Pachacamac of Knuckles Clan, TIkal."

"Someone in this age knows me?" Tikal pondered.

"Ah! Legion of demons!" Sticks panicked, jumping behind Omega, "Blast 'em! Before they infect us and kill a bunny!"

"..." Sonia looked at Julie-Su.

"...I may have been playing Doom and Sticks and Tikal had walked in on me playing," Julie-Su replied.

"Deploying artillery! Mission: eliminate unknown enemy faction!" Omega declared as his shoulders opened revealing several guns popping out of it as his free hand changed into a machine gun.

"...This was a m-" one of the troops began with a gulp before Omega opened fire on them.

"Take cover! Return fire! Stun rounds on the echidnas and fatal shots on the others!" the leader shouted as he dashed behind a boulder and began to return fire.

"Fatal sh-?!" Sonai began before ducking under a shot aimed at her head, causing several strands of hair to fall, "...Omega, use everything you've got and mince them!"

"Affirmative!" Omega replied as more panels opened, revealing missile launchers, more guns...and a paddleball.

"Pfft...A paddleball? What's that go…" one snickered before spikes came out of the ball and Omega batted it at them, breaking the helmet and revealing an echidna with their eyes replaced with robotic ones, "GAH! Do not underestimate a paddleball! Do not underestimate it! Visor glass in the optics! Ah-ah! It stings!"

"I thought separating you from Johnson would be a good thing, Manfreidi…" the leader grumbled, shooting at the charging Omega before rolling out of the way in time to avoid Omega's sword slicing through the rock, "Tch. Kragok, sir! Requesting Fire and Ice Troops! We are under fire from an automaton with regenerative abilities, over!"

=Tch...Didn't think this world would have that technology yet...Fair enough. Sending the Gizoids your way=

"...Oh, I hope I didn't hear that part right," Julie-Su whispered upon hearing that.

"What do buzzards have to do with this?" Sticks asked, throwing her boomerang and whacked a trooper in the head, knocking off their helmet to reveal an echidna with half their head replaced with machinery, "Gah! What is this?! Some freaky virus that's turning people to half metal?!"

"Legionization," Julie-Su explained, "They're Dark Legion."

"Dark Legion? Ya mean they're with Egghead?" Manic asked, knife out as one of the troopers was now getting into a knife fight with him using a red plasma knife.

"We don't know an 'Egghead,'" his opponent replied, "We are the Dark Legion and our Chief is Kragok."

"And he has one goal in mind...subjection of those lower than him...and the revival of our god, Enerjak," another troop added.

"?! E…Enerjak?" Julie-Su and Tikal whispered in fear.

"You...You seek to bring that demon to this world?" Tikal asked.

"What's an Enerjak?" Sonia asked as she caught a punch before delivering a chop to a Dark Legion trooper's neck, knocking them out before she threw them at several more.

"Like Tikal said…" Julie-Su began as she dodged a laser shot, "A demon…"

"Silence! Enerjak is our god...and he will purify this world!" a Dark Legion troop barked before Julie-Su picked up a gun and shot him with a stun round, "GAH!"

"Analysis: enemy forces standing at three," Omega stated.

"Not good...the Gizoids aren't here yet…" the lead Dark Legion Troop growled.

"Seriously what the heck is a G-" Manic began before he barely dodged a laser shot from above, the shot leaving a patch of ice on it, "?!"

Flying down towards them were several humanoid robots. They were all mostly mustard-colored with five-fingered olive-brown hands and feet in the shape of shoes with orange soles. Their upper arms, thighs, and abdomen were olive-brown with spherical orange joints as shoulders and pelvis-legs joints. They also had relatively thick armor around their forearms and lower legs, (each one possessing orange cuffs), thick kneecaps, and some kind of jetpack on their backs. On their chests, they had three circles that were either all red or all blue. Lastly, they possessed spherical heads with a beige mouth plate, blue eyes, orange caps for ears, and a fin resembling either a snowflake or a fireball depending on if they had blue circles or red circles.

"...That answer your question?" Sonia deadpanned.

"...Whatever you do, don't do any special moves or anything like them," Julie-Su warned.

"Huh? Why?" Manic asked.

"Gizoids...They can copy and use those abilities."

"How do you know of the Nocturnus' greatest creations?!" a Dark Legion troop demanded.

"Statement: Worthless consumer models!" Omega declared, opening fire on the Gizoids as they quickly took flight and one of the snowflake heads fired a blue beam at Omega, making the robot dodge and cause ice to form wherever the beam hit, "Statement: I retract the previous statement. Gizoids registered as Tech Level: 4."

"Well...Just great," Manic muttered, "We can't use any of our moves, or else those things will copy 'em...and they can counter Omega's shots...Really wish Ben were here to deal with these guys."


"We've been fortunate that these tunnels we made haven't collapsed," the leader of the Nocturnus troops that had rescued Ben's group noted as they walked through a familiar tunnel to Ben, Sonic, and Roll, "It's amazing how despite the millennia, this has remained."

"Millennia?" Sonic repeated.

"To you, it would be Millennia. For us? It's been barely twenty years," the bulky Nocturnus noted, a Jamaican accent heavy in their voice, "Time in de Twilight Cage be slower then out here."

"Twilight Cage?" Roll asked.

"Think of it as a dimensional prison that exists outside of time," the lead Nocturnus informed, "It's filled with strange beings imprisoned within through numerous methods. Our tribe ended up in there through a botched ritual to stop the Knuckles Clan from trying to perform an attack on the Wolf and Snake Tribes."

"So that's what happened to the Nocturnus Clan in this Zone…" Lien-Da whispered.

"And thank you for confirming that the Dark Legion hasn't attempted necromancy with their technomancy, Lien-Da," the lead Nocturnus thanked.

"You know the crazy bitch?" Ragna asked.

"Grr…"

"Was Kragok your brother in your Zone?" the lead Echidna asked Lien-Da.

"Yeah."

"Same here," the bulky Nocturnus replied, "Julie-Su joined us when da tribe split due to risin' tensions while you stayed wit' yer brother." he sighed, looking down at the ground as they walked, "..."

"...You'll have to forgive Grimm. He was friends with Julie-Su until she and our Lien-Da were killed in an avalanche caused in a battle between we Nocturnus and the Dark Legion," a shorter Nocturnus whispered to them.

"Oh…"

"...Okay, I'll bite. What's my brother up to?" Lien-Da asked.

"Enerjak."

"...Ah ha ha…That's real funny…" Lien-Da laughed...before noticing the tone they were giving off, "...Oh god no…"

"Judging by the reactions you all have, logic dictates this 'Enerjak' is a bad thing," Shockwave noted.

"Enerjak is de God of Death in our religion," Grimm informed, "He be da big bad in many a legend, causin' mayhem, destruction, and-of course-death wherever he goes. There be legends of him possessin' powerful Echidnas ta be his Avatar on de mortal plain and, when dat happens, dere be nearly nothin' dat can survive against their Avatar."

"I take it it's different, but just as dangerous in your original Zone," the head Nocturnus noted to Lien-Da.

"Yes, and if it weren't for...ugh...my Zone's Eggman, I wouldn't even be standing here," Lien-Da explained, "I was barely alive when he saved me...but in exchange, I had to serve him and rename the Dark Legion...ugh. The Dark Egg Legion."

"...Who da heck adds 'Egg' to a scary name like dat?! It just ruins it," Grimm snorted, "...Imma callin' dem dat next time we encounter dem. Heheheheh."

"We're approaching camp," the shortest noted as they entered the chamber that Knuckles had attempted to hide the Master Emerald in, revealing it filled with various Nocturnus with helmets gone, revealing normal-looking Echidnas with white markings on various parts of their heads and dreadlocks standing around, both casual but also ready for action at a moment's notice.

"That's a lot of Echidnas," Ben noted in surprise.

"This is all we could rescue after Kragok showed up and caused our tribe to split in two," the lead Echidna explained, tapping her helmet and caused it to glow before retracting, revealing an Echidna with orange fur, a peach muzzle, and lilac eyes rimmed by a patch of much lighter (almost white) fur, each with a single, short eyelash which curved off to the side; She had seven dreadlocks with a lighter zigzag pattern near the ends hanging from around her head, noticeably shorter than Knuckles', which may have been caused by her headband, "Come. Our leader asked that we bring anyone we found on the surface that was being targeted by the Dark Legion."

"Your leader? It's not you?" Sonic asked.

"No. I am Precursor Shade, second-in-command," the echidna replied.

"She be da lady who be in charge when Ix be away," Grimm noted, his helmet vanishing to show a dark-brown Echidna head with the white markings making his face look like a skeleton's face with onyx eyes, while the shortest was revealed to be a female echidna with a white star mark on her forehead and pink eyes.

"And the 'bots?" Ragna asked as a pair of Gizoid-the olive-green replaced with dark-red, the mustard-yellow replaced with a snow-white, and the orange replaced with blue-walked by them.

"Gizoids," Shade informed, "We found them in the Twilight Cage and managed to repair them." she frowned, "Before we managed to put runes on them, Kragok managed to take half of them for his own with his Technomancy. And your reaction tells me he didn't have that power in your Zone, Lien-Da."

"No...The closest person who had technopathy was the Iron Queen, leader of the Iron Dominion."

Shade nodded as the three led the group through towards the small shrine in the center. A small camp had been set up before it. Sitting down in it was an echidna in the Nocturnus armor with a black cloak over it. The collar of the cloak was gold and shaped like a gear with three glowing 'Z' markings on them. He was sitting cross-legged and actually floating a few feet above the ground, a gold staff with one end resembling a bronze gear in his lap. Nearby, an elderly echidna in dark-blue robes with several white markings on his face and dreadlocks was looking at the murals on the walls, writing in a paper scroll. Shade, Grimm, and the third echidna knelt down to the floating echidna.

"Imperator Ix, we've returned with guests," Shade informed.

The floating echidna opened his eyes and looked at them, "Ah, Shade, Grimm, Knix, welcome back." his voice was soft and calm with a small hint of warmth in it as he looked at the others, "Hmm...Overlanders and Mobians together? Times in this era have changed quite a bit. Welcome. I am Imperator Ix, leader of the Nocturnus. I apologize for any troubles you've encountered."

"It's fine, sir," Roll nodded with a formal bow.

"Like she says, it's alright," Sonic shrugged, "Name's Sonic. These are Ragna, Ben, Yacker, and Roll. …" he glanced at Shockwave and Lien-Da, "These two are whoever."

"Oi!" Lien-Da growled in annoyance.

"She is from another Zone," Shade informed.

"I see…" Ix noted, "I can also tell most of her body is machinery despite how she looks on the outside."

"?! How did…?"

"I am a Technopath. The machines within you told me of your tale," Ix informed, "Just as they tell me of your logical companion Shockwave and his tale."

"It was Imperator Ix who taught us how to repair the Gizoids from 'listening' to them," Knix informed.

"It is a surprise that so much time has passed despite the few decades we were in the Twilight Cage," Ix noted, "So much has changed, yet feels easy to be able to handle. I feel that if time was not like the Twilight Cage and we came back, it'd feel like we would be fish out of water with how quick we needed to advance from a tribe of spear and bows to blades of plasma and guns." he glanced at the Omnitrix, "Your device, Ben was it? It tells me many a tale of you and your times with it. You have had a long life for one so young." he looked at Ragna, "Your arm, though, is quite rude. You may need to dunk it in more soapy water than you do normally to deal with its mouth."

"Excuse you?" Ragna asked.

"Ah!" a small voice cried.

Ix held up a hand...and a crystal hand appeared in the air as big as him. A ball made of tattered cloths landed in the hand as a pair of echidna children skidded to a halt, looking sheepish and worried. Ix chuckled before turning the hand over, letting it fall into the hands of the child on the left.

"Thank you, Mr. Ix!" the two thanked as they ran off.

Ix sighed as he watched them leave before looking at the others, "Those children were not with us when we first came to the Twilight Cage."

"Eh?" Roll pondered.

"A few months inside of the Twilight Cage ago, this golden ring appeared in the sky," Ix explained, "Echidnas rained down from it. Our two sides were quick in finding and catching them before harm could befall them."

'?!' Lien-Da's eyes widened as she glanced around, 'Don't tell me…'

"You!"

Lien-Da slowly turned around to see a familiar face to her. It was an echidna male who, like many there, wore the white armor of the Nocturnus Clan. He had sharp, pale blue eyes entirely focused on Lien-Da and a large tuff of black hair on his head partially covered by what Ben recognized as a park ranger's hat.

"Hello...nephew," Lien-Da greeted.

"...Nephew?" Sonic and Roll repeated.

"Constable Remington," Ix greeted.

"Imperator," the echidna greeted before going back to glaring at her, "Honestly, I thought you had been long gone after that explosion you did with parts you swiped from your own men in their sleep."

"How did you survive that Genesis Wave?" Lien-Da asked.

"Genesis Wave? You mean that big wave of light that came out of nowhere?" Remington questioned, "When it started to come towards us that were still clinging onto life, it destabilized the Zone we were in and triggered a charged Warp Ring effect of sorts that sucked us in just before it could hit."

"You're from the same Zone?" Sonic asked.

"A Sonic," Remington noted, "Yes. We're both from the Prime Zone."

"Former Prime Zone," Lien-Da countered, earning a glare, "What? What I heard about it is that the Prime Zone got torn to pieces and reassembled outside of the multiverse. It's gone; get over it. I have."

"Honestly, your inner machines and the explosives in you speak much of your attempts to unify the echidnas under you even if it had to be through under control of a man who has lost his sanity and needed to focus on just one figure in order to keep his sanity," Ix noted, earning a twitchy eye from Lien-Da before Ix moved over to Remington, "You are aware of the blue hedgehog here, yes?"

"Yeah. I know a version of him," Remington replied before offering Sonic his hand, "Constable Remington, nephew to Julie-Su and, ugh, her nephew as well."

"Right...Wait, how old are you?"

"27."

"?!" Sonic and Roll blinked several times.

"Julie-Su's older than she looks," Ragna noted.

"No. She's 16," Remington replied.

"But you're ol…"

"Time moved slower in the Twilight Zone, much like the Twilight Cage," Remington noted, "My mother and I ended up getting out of the Twilight Zone when I was a child, so by the time the Dark Legion got out of the Twilight Zone, I was 26 while my aunt over there was 32."

"Hmm...That explains why she does not like it when she has to say her age for reports," Shockwave noted.

"Shut. up. Now," Lien-Da seethed at the logical robot.

"Do you trust this blue hedgehog, Constable?" Ix asked.

"I do," Remington replied, "While I only know the Sonic from the Zone my fellow Echidnas from Albion originate from, I can tell he's just like the Sonic I know, doing what he feels is right."

"Ah...good," Ix nodded, his eyes closed in a way to make them look like smiles before his head tilted, "..." his eyes changed to look like frowns, "Teri-Lu has found a confrontation between the Frost and Flame Legion units and a group of Mobians allied with a robot. One matches Lien-Da, but with a metal arm and dreadlock."

"Where are they?" Grimm asked almost instantly, standing at full attention.

"At ease, Grimm," Ix calmly spoke, "They are doing well in fighting, but Yanar reports that Kragok himself is approaching the group..." Those from the Twilight Cage tensed at that, "...riding upon a massive robot."

"Any description on the robot?" Shockwave asked.

"...It seems to be a gestalt, made of three land vehicles, a rocket, and a helicopter," Ix replied after a moment.

"Bruticus," Lien-Da frowned, "What is going on here? Why didn't the Combaticons report?"

"This version of him is like the Iron Queen," Remington replied, "He can control machines. The only reason we've been equal to the Dark Legion here is because of Imperator Ix being a Technomancer as well."

"Is there anyone with Julie-Su?" Ben asked.

"Yes. Teri-Lu reports a green hedgehog, a magenta hedgehog, a badger, another Echidna that she thinks is some form of hologram, and someone she refers to as 'The Avatar,'" Ix replied.

"..." Remington facepalmed, "Why do people insist on calling him that when he hates it?"

"You are aware of the identity of the last?" Ix asked.

"Yes. In our original Zone, he was an echidna of great importance who had a lot put onto his shoulders for his entire life," Remington replied, "Here? I know next to nothing."

"This Avatar guy...What was his name?" Sonic asked.

"Knuckles," Remington replied, "Have you not met him here?"

"Oh yeah. We have," Sonic replied, "Pretty decent guy when you get to know him and is very protective of the Master Emerald."


"Declaration: Worthless consumer models," Omega stated, cleaving a Frost Legion Gizoid in two before ripping its left arm off and used its freeze ray to hit a Flame Legion Gizoid; letting him walk over and rip its right arm off before decapitating it's exposed head, "Observation: I like these weapons. I will be keeping these to integrate later."

"...At least he's on our side," Manic muttered.

"Gh...What is with these guys?" a Legionnaire pondered, looking around at the wrecked area, "That magenta hedgehog keeps teleporting in a burst of flames with that spear, that green hedgehog's reshaped the whole area with that knife, they've got a Knuckles, Julie-Su's alive and has implants like us?" another Gizoid head flew over their head, "And to top it all off, we got a crazy badger girl and the big bad robot knight."

"What did we miss while we were stuck in there?" another asked.

"Dunno...At least we're away from that crazy Tasmanian Devil," a third shuddered before guns cocking made the three pause and look up to see Omega looking down at them, his sword-free hand changed into a machine gun, "...Bugger."

"Response: Yes...Bugger...terminate bugs…" Omega stated, his optics glowing menacingly.

"Woah woah woah! Easy big guy…" Sticks spoke as she hopped on top of his shoulder, "Just tie 'em up and toss 'em over on that patch of grass."

"Query: Why?"

"Oh, you're gonna like it," Sticks replied as she quickly tied the trio up.

Omega lifted them up before tossing them over at a patch of grass Sticks was pointing at. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ground lowered and…

*BOING~!*

"Observation: The angle of the shot will result in them falling off the island and into the water below," Omega noted, "Damages from impact and the bindings will result in high chances of termination. Statement: I am satisfied with this option. Can we find more and toss them on the spring, too?"

"Right...This is one of Egg-butt's builds," Manic muttered before the ground shook.

"What was that?" Knuckles asked before the ground shook again.

"...Smokey didn't make himself big with the lake again, did he?" Tikal asked, still flickering in and out.

"..." Julie-Su looked around before a sucking wind began to pick up, "?! Manic!"

The green hedgehog stabbed the ground with his knife, causing a small wall to rise up to keep them from being sucked in by the pulling winds. The trees before them shredded apart as Bruticus emerged, his helicopter blades spinning rapidly to the point they were like mower blades, the pulling winds being made by their spinning. He stopped and stood up fully, Kragok standing on his shoulder.

"Well now...This is interesting," Kragok noted, looking at Tikal, "You've become a spirit, Tikal."

"Kragok!" Tikal gasped, worry and fear in her tone.

"You know him?" Knuckles and Julie-Su asked in different tones.

"He was a spy for my father in the Nocturnus Clan," Tikal replied, "Whenever he came to report, he always felt...wrong...to me."

"Oh come now, Tikal. Is that any way to talk to someone you know?" Kragok asked, wagging a metal finger at her before spotting Julie-Su, "? Well now...My dear little half-sister...alive of all things? ...No. You're the one spoken about by my Dark Legion members from this 'Prime Zone,' aren't you?"

"...I am," Julie-Su replied, keeping her blaster ready as she glared at him a bit.

"Interesting. Unlike the one I knew, you actually Legionized instead of running away," Kragok noted, looking at the metal arm and dreadlock, before looking at Knuckles, "And you must be the one those rebels with Ix call the 'Avatar.' Knuckles, if I am correct."

"Avatar?" Knuckles raised a brow.

"Supposedly, The Avatar is said to bring peace to Mobius and possess the power to perform miracles," Kragok stated before grinning, "But the way I see it...The Avatar is the vessel for our true god...Enerjak."

"?!" Julie-Su's eyes widened at that.

"Enerjak?!" Tikal freaked, turning into a sphere of reddish light the size of a Chaos Emerald, "Oh, this is bad! Very very bad!"

"Enerjak?" Knuckles, Sonia, Manic, and Sticks repeated.

"The God of Death in Echidna religion," Tikal informed, "Said to incarnate to lay waste to all life until he is defeated with his demonic powers."

"Ahh...but that's where you're wrong," Kragok grinned, "He will purge the world of the weak, and make it a true paradise for us...a World of Gods."

"You...you're insane!" Julie-Su snapped.

"Hmm?"

"Enerjak is no god! He's a literal demon!" she continued, "I should know...I've dealt with him...TWICE! He's killed innocent people he deemed guilty! He killed his own men! He…" she tried not to look at Knuckles for a moment before shaking it off, "Trust me when I say this...if Enerjak appears, then all that awaits Mobius is death! No...All Zones will face death at the hands of that monster!"

"A multiversal purging? Fascinating," Kragok noted, his teeth being beared in a bloodlust-filled smile.

"...She's right. This guy's nuts," Manic whispered.

"Julie, why~?!" Tikal whined, flying over to her.

"Shoot," Julie-Su cringed.

"Though, to bring him forth...I do require one of his descendants and a willing offering," Kragok noted before holding up his metal hand, "Bruticus, smash them all but my Zone-Half-Sister."

He snapped his metal fingers before Bruticus focused on them all. Omega held up a gun towards Bruticus when Kragok held his metal hand towards the robot, glowing orange. An orange glow appeared on Omega's optics before they flickered like the Master Emerald's current state and settled back to their original as he began to shoot at Bruticus.

'He's immune?' Kragok thought, jumping off Bruticus and glided away from the charging behemoth to land nearby, 'How?'

"Bruticus SMASH!" Bruticus roared, slamming his fist down at Omega, who moved out of the way only to be knocked back by the shockwave of the impact.

"This guy again," Knuckles growled.

"You know this guy?" Sticks asked.

"Yeah. Made of five other smaller bots that was a big pain in the ass. Took Ben turning into a sailor outfit that turned into a stripper outfit when Makoto put him on to beat him," Knuckles explained.

"Wh-What?!" Julie-Su gawked.

"Had that form locked up!" Sonia exclaimed, "Too much budget went into replacing her clothes when that form was used!"

"...Seriously?" Knuckles raised a brow.

"I keep a copy of the last budget prior to Omniketsu being locked on me at all times," Sonia replied before Omega forced them all to duck before a gout of flames from the rocket engines on Bruticus' left arm shot at where their heads had been, "...I'll show it after this."

"Can your fire thing teleport a lot at once?" Julie-Su asked.

"I...I honestly don't know," Sonia replied.

"Well better try now!" Sticks exclaimed.

"I'll try to follow wherever you all go," Tikal noted before Sonia pulled out the red Chaos Emerald, "Wh…?"

"Ragna dropped it when the spring went off," Sonia informed, "Can you go into it?"

"I think so," Tikal replied.

"Good," Sonia replied, summoning her phoenix/spear and armored boots, "Everyone, hold on."

Bruticus swung his helicopter arm so the blades faced outward and began to spin rapidly, creating the suction once more. Sticks, Knuckles, Manic, Omega, and Julie-Su grasped onto Sonia as she closed her eyes. They started to be pulled in before they were engulfed in a large fireball and it dispersed, revealing them to be gone.

"Tch. Gone…" Kragok scowled, "Bruticus, back to our camp. I may as well…'hear out' our…'captive audience' and what they have on how the world has changed."

"Bruticus will comply."


"...An update," Ix noted, "Teri-Lu has witnessed the group under attack vanish in a burst of flames. She mentions that it reminds her of a technique used by this…'Archimedes' fellow. ...A fire ant? Truly? That race has been extinct due to the Knuckles Clan wiping them out for their territory when Pachamac was still in his eggshell." a large ball of flames appeared above the glaring Remington and Lien-Da before dispersing, causing the group to land on them, "...Teri-Lu, they ended up here. ...Yes, they landed on Remington. Why would you ask that spe…? Ah, fire teleporting fire ant kept landing on his head when he'd come check on your home of 'Albion.' I still like that name. If we ever have this civil war end, we...yes, yes. I know." he looked over at the pile-up, "Remington, your Soultouch is very strict. ...You've got a good Soultouch."

"Yay…" Remington groaned.

"Sis!" Sonic and Manic exclaimed as they quickly got her (and Manic) out of the pile up to check on her.

"Ugh…" Sonia groaned, looking pale with a heavy amount of sweat falling off her, "Don't...let me...do it again…" she rubbed the side of her head weakly, "Head hurts…"

"THAT WAS NUTS!" Sticks exclaimed as she shot up, "...Aga-"

"NO!" Sonia snapped before wincing and holding her head, "Ahh...regret…"

"Observation: We are in an underground cavern filled with Echidnas wearing white versions of prior enemy Echidna combatants," Omega noted, "...Query: Do I slice and shoot?"

"No," Lien-Da ordered, "And get off me!"

"Query: Who are you?" Omega asked.

"The energy wave that short-circuited myself and the others in Eggman's forces seems to have done memory damage," Shockwave noted, "Perhaps his origins from being made by a race of extraterrestrials…"

"GET OFF!" Knuckles roared, throwing everyone off and land around him, "Gah! Couldn't breathe!" he blinked a few times, seeing several dozen Echidnas all looking at him with wide eyes, "...Uh...Hi?"

"The Avatar!" many of them cheered, quickly bowing.

"...Julie-Su…" Knuckles began, slowly looking at the pinkette.

"It's...a long story…" Julie-Su sighed before glaring at Lien-Da, "...sister."

"Brat…" Lien-Da groaned as she stood up, glaring back at her.

"I had a feeling Kragok appearing was your fault."

"Hey, hey, hey. I was not expecting this happening," Lien-Da argued.

"You never expect a lot of things to not go your way, but it does," Remington added.

"And I'm getting double teamed here," Lien-Da snorted before Julie-Su blinked twice.

"...Remington?" Julie-Su asked.

"Yep," Remington replied before she opened her mouth, "Yes, the one you know. Apparently, the me from this Zone was never even born because Kragok got...ahem...sterilized by 'accident' by a Nocturnus Clan member that he tried to get 'fresh' with."

"...Pffft…" Julie-Su tried to force back a laugh before shaking her head, "...H...How many…?"

"In all honesty, we went from the remaining ten percent of the species to eight before we ended up in the Twilight Cage of this Zone," Remington replied, a somber look forming on his face.

"?!" Julie-Su covered her mouth with wide eyes.

"The ones who had metal on them or in them ended up with the Dark Legion," Ix noted, making Julie-Su jump on him speaking up, "We found no elderly." he waited a few moments, "...Please don't shoot. I'll be killed."

"Julie-Su, he's good, he's good," Remington quickly spoke, forcing her laser pistol down, "This is Imperator Ix, leader of the Nocturnus Clan. He rescued us when we ended up in the Twilight Cage. He's a technopath..." he pushed the pistol back down, "A good technopath."

"You have quite a story from what your metal arm and dreadlock tell me," Ix noted, 'smiling,' "They speak quite a bit about your current events up to this point."

"...Like you wouldn't believe," Julie-Su admitted, grasping her metal arm.

"Seriously, stop bowing!" Knuckles barked, "Why are you bowing?! I do not bend the elements, dammit! And damn you, Kevin, for giving Julie-Su that box set when Tikal asked while on the ARK!"

"It's a good series," Ben chuckled, "...Though the bowing is getting creepy."

"In our Zone, the Knuckles from there died and came back to life...which fit with this Echidna Prophecy of an 'Avatar' meant to bring miracles," Remington noted, "Though...with the stuff that went off there...Not really a believer. Then again, I blame a lot of outside influences and interferences."

"Wait, what?!" Knuckles exclaimed at that, "I...er...other me died?!"

"Long story," Julie-Su informed.

"Wow. The more I hear of your previous Zone, the more I get the feeling it was like no higher power could agree with anything and abandon it to another only for one to come back and cause things to go very bad," Sticks noted.

"..." Remington raised a brow at Julie-Su.

"That's Sticks," Julie-Su introduced.

"Look, can some dude or dudette explain what the hoo-haw is goin' on?" Manic asked.

"We're basically in a temporary alliance with Eggman's forces until this blows over," Ben stated, "Nearly all the Echidnas here? They're from over 4000 years in the past and got stuck in an alternate dimension where time went by that only twenty years passed for them. The others? They're from where Julie-Su and Lien-Da are from."

"Ah...That explains why Knux isn't the only one aside from Julie-Su that ain't a spirit," Manic noted.

"...Was Saffron…?" Julie-Su whispered to Remington.

"..." Remington cringed, "She made it...but didn't at the same time…"

"What?" Julie-Su asked.

"Teri-Lu and her were the last ones pulled in and that light-the Genesis Wave if what she called it is what it was called…" he slumped when she nodded, "...It...managed to graze Saffron."

"?!" Julie-Su tensed.

"She's alright," Remington assured, "Just...um…Please promise not to throttle me when I tell you, okay?"

"Remington, spit it out now," Julie-Su ordered, "What happened to Saffron?"

"..." Remington inhaled before Ix held up his hand once more, making the crystal hand and caught a yellow blur, "...Better to show you."

Ix dismissed it and the yellow object landed in Grimm's hands. The object was a Mobian Honey Bee with long yellow hair. She wore a pink outdoors dress underneath a zipped up pilot's jacket with bits of white armor on her shoulders, elbows, and knees. A pair of blue shoes covered her feet while she had a blue radio headset on her head with amethyst-colored eyes.

"Heh-heh! Thanks, sir!" the bee thanked.

"Saffron, did you sneak a cookie from Lara-Le again?" Ix asked.

"...Maybe…" the bee replied, trying hard not to look at him.

"...Did you sneak a cookie from Wynmacher again?"

"...Yes…" she slumped.

"?!" Julie-Su gawked, looking back and forth between her and Remington, "She's acting like…"

"The best we can figure out, that 'Genesis Wave' regressed her physically and mentally to eight years old," Remington replied.

"It's like Charmy only on a physical scale as well…" Julie-Su whispered.

"Hi!"

"Gh?!" Julie-Su spun around to see the bee looking at her.

"...You look familiar…" she noted, her cheeks puffed as she thought, "Mmm...I think I know this. D-Don't tell me!" she held up a finger, "Mmm...I think we were friends…" she looked at the metal dreadlock, "...Oh! I remember!" she pounced her with a hug, "Julie-Su, hiya! Where have you been? ...Were we playing Hide and Seek and I just forgot?"

"...It…" Julie-su paused, some small tears forming in her eyes as she returned the hug, "It's...complicated…"

"..." Knuckles walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving an assuring squeeze.

"...Hey. I didn't even know about that damn Genesis Wave until after I was about to escape that 'prison' that psycho Thrash left us in," Lien-Da argued, noticing the glare Remmington was giving her, "And even if I knew, he'd ignore me and go 'This is the only way I can get a heads up on Sonic' or 'With this, I can finally make my Eggman Empire and defeat Sonic once and for all'! Anything that didn't revolve around Sonic? He just tossed it aside! Anyone that isn't Sonic? He just calls them cannon fodder or distractions!"

"...If that Genesis Wave rewrote him, hopefully it was for the better for his mental state," Shockwave noted, "Focusing on just one enemy is illogical and would lead to greater losses than victories. Even this Genesis Wave he made could be considered pyrrhic at best."

"And given that whole 'Master Unit' thing we learned about back on the ARK and this Genesis Wave can rewrite both space and time...I wouldn't be surprised if the Eggman I knew..or at least that stupid machne was erased form existance!" Lien-Da ranted.

"...Someone's testy," Manic noted.

"Oh ho! I am way past 'testy', green boy!" Lien-Da continued, "Even if he saved me from Enerjak the first time, I had to deal with him changing the Dark Legion to the Dark EGG Legion, making some of the most asinine moves I've ever seen after he managed to Roboticized the Princess of the Republic of Acorn after his world wide Roboticizer failed, him revolving around this 'chaos theory' that he needs Sonic involved in every single part of hsi plans, me and my men get tossed into a pocket zone by a maniac that blames our entire species because of what they did to his species in the past, and another thing about this changed history in the Prime Zone? He changed it...to the Egg Army!"

"...Huh?"

"Dr. Eggman built a 'Zone Viewer' to test is what Lien-Da spoke of about being from another universe was true," Shockwave informed, "I do not know completely of what was seen, but that is one of things I heard Lien-Da screech in rage and disbelief. The machine broke shortly after due to insufficient energy supply."

"Oh and one last thing? That stupid Genesis Wave? Yea...The Prime Zone was changed too many times, resulting in the Planet splitting apart, and and and...I just stopped right there so I could vent my frustrations out! But now I have to deal with Kragok and him reviving that monster Enerjak when I just wanted to grab a sample of the Master Emerald's energy so Clove can get a goddamn cure for that sister of hers!" Lien-Da finished as she heavily panted.

"...You done?" Ragna asked.

"Yeah...I think I am…"

"I'd be suggestin' she be seein' Cla-Ra, but given she looks like the Lien-Da we fought against…" Grimm muttered to Knix and Shade, earning dope slaps from the two with the latter discreet and the former blunt.

"Oh! Oh! Julie! This is Grimm and Knix and Shade!" Saffron beamed, pulling the pink echidna over to them, "Grimm says you were part of their team, though it's weird since I think I remember us being a team called Kaotix...Chaos Chicks? ...Um...Mmm…Stupid funny light."

"Chaotix," Julie-Su corrected before looking at the trio, "Um…"

"Heya!" Knix greeted, offering her hand, "I'm Knix! You're Julie-Su, right? Remmy and the others who came from his Zone told us 'bout ya!"

"...Is that so?" Julie-Su asked, accepting the hand, "It's...nice to meet you all as well."

"..." Shade discreetly elbowed Grimm once more.

"Gah! Ah, uh, hello! I be Grimm," Grimm introduced, "De 'heavy hitter' for our team. Nice to be meetin' you, mon." 'Even if I already know another you already…'

"I am Shade. I apologize for all the chaos going on," Shade apologized, "None of us expected for portals to appear in our camps and suck us up out of the Twilight Cage and end up here." she moved closer to her and whispered, "Forgive Grimm's awkwardness. Your 'Zone Double' was a member of our team prior to her death and he took it hard."

"Oh...my...my condolences," Julie-Su whispered.

"...Wait. Lien-Da said she came here with Clove," Sonia spoke before looking at said echidna, "Who else was with you?"

"Conquering Storm and one of her ninja, Maw, and Mordred Hood," Lien-Da answered.

"..." Sonic and Ragna tried to not look at Roll when the first two were mentioned.

"Eh? Nani?" Roll asked, looking at the two with a tilted head as Yacker tried hard to not laugh.

"...We're not abandoning them," Lien-Da sighed.

"Hmm?" Julie-Su raised a brow, "You...worrying about someone?"

"Zip it, twerp," Lien-Da frowned, "Eggman would be on my ass if I ended up losing a few of his Grand Masters, and if Enerjak comes back and takes over this Zone. Plus there's Clove's sister Cassia, and the Master Emerald energy is most likely the cure to her disease."

"Woah woah wait," Sonic spoke, "What disease?"

"..." Sonia sighed a bit, "Remember back in Northamer? When we were getting the Chaos Emeralds during that whole Chaos fiasco?"

"...That little girl?" Manic asked.

"Yes," Sonia replied, "She has a sickness that is making her lose her five senses and had to be Legionized to retain them, but it's merely delaying it."

"Turns out she picked up this thing called an Izayoi and its got these 'anchors' on her life force and draining it," Lien-Da replied, "The energy of the Master Emerald actually severs these 'anchors.'"

"?!" Ben tensed at the name, "...The Izayoi again…"

"...Okay seriously. How many more lives is that thing gonna ruin?" Sonic asked with a frown.

"Considering what the Oracle said about there being at least one Izayoi on every planet in different shapes and forms? Tons," Ragna snorted.

"Right now we have more important matters right now," Lien-Da spoke.

"Yes...especially considering he wants to use Knuckles as the Avatar for Enerjak," Julie-Su added.

"He wants to what?!" Lien-Da exclaimed.

"For once, we're in agreement," Julie-Su noted.

"...And knowing him, if he can't get Knuckles, he'll use himself as an Avatar for Enerjak," Lien-Da frowned.

"You sure?" Ben asked.

"Outside of him actually using magic and that new arm, he acts exactly like the Kragok from our Zone," Lien-Da replied.

"If he intends to use himself, he will need one of you," Ix spoke up, earning their attention, "The way the ritual to call upon Enerjak is written, it requires one completely loyal to the one performing the ritual and one that is related to the ritual performer. It is like the Ritual to call upon Aurora, the Echidna Goddess of Wisdom and Life, where it requires one loyal to one performing the ritual and one that is unrelated to the ritual performer. Despite not being his real siblings, you two are siblings to a Kragok, meaning you can still be used for the Enerjak Ritual."

"...Yeah no," both sisters instantly replied.

"I died once to Enerjak...I am not going through that again," Lien-Da stated.

"He tries to go for Julie-Su and I'll tear him apart," Knuckles scowled, cracking his namesakes.

Ix nodded as he stood up, "Well, I shall leave Shade to discuss strategy in my stead. I'm off to see if something I had left in these tunnels is still here."

"Imperator...It's not a bottle of wine, is it?" Shade asked, making Ix tense and sweat heavily.

"Ah, uh, no! No! Not at all!" Ix quickly denied before scurrying off, "Oh wow! I really wanna find it now! Toodles!"

Shade sighed as she shook her head, "I worry for the Imperator at times when it comes to his favored drinks."

'...That old man is hiding something…' Ragna thought, looking at where Ix left...before grabbing Saffron's head and handed her over to Julie-Su, "Don't touch my sword."

"Aw...But it's so shiny…" Saffron pouted.

"I know, right?" Sticks agreed, discreetly reaching for Ragna's sword...before Ragna pulled her into a choke hold, "Gah! Uncle! Uncle!"


"Wait, wait, wait. You're part of an army called the Dark Legion?" a hooded Dark Legion asked Clove, all the organic members of Eggman's forces on the island all in a large crystalline cage and their hands and feet connected to each other in crystal clumps, as the downed robotic forces were all being repaired and reprogrammed by other Legionnaires.

"Yes. A mere coincidence it seems," Clove replied, "It was a name coined by Lien-Da…"

"Lien-Da? You...know Lady Lien-Da?" the Legionnaire asked, his hood falling off in surprise to reveal a brown-furred Echidna with a metal spike for a nose.

"Lady Lien-Da?" Hood asked in disbelief.

"Red echidna? Likes to wear leather? Metal dreadlock that can turn into a communicator?" Conquering Storm asked.

"That is her! But...But how? I...I saw her die in an avalanche with the traitor Julie-Su," the echidna pondered.

'...I see. The ones you speak of is the Zone Counterparts to the ones we know,' Maw noted in sign language, his namesake not working at the moment due to the 'EMP' wave from earlier, 'The Lien-Da we know was formerly is this Prime Zone before she escaped from this pocket Zone. Same with the one named Julie-Su.'

"Really? Huh…" the Legionnaire rubbed his chin in thought before the ground shook, "!" Bruticus soon emerged from the trees, Kragok on his shoulder, "Lord Kragok has returned!"

"Your hood is down," Clove noted.

"Oh shoot!" the echidna yelped, quickly pulling it back on and shadowing his face, "Phew...Thanks."

"Welcome back, milord," a nearly robotic brown-furred Echidna with just a few pieces of dreadlock, muzzle, and the entire left eye being the only organic things left on him spoke, kneeling as Kragok hopped off Bruticus.

"Rise, Xenin. It seems that the energies I felt were indeed my sisters, yet they were from another universe...another 'Zone' as they call them...instead," Kragok informed as the nearly mechanical Echidna rose up, "Furthermore, I found that Tikal is alive as a spirit in this era...and that the Knuckles Clan has a remaining descendant alive: one named after the entire Clan itself."

"?!" he tensed at that, "You mean…"

"Yes. It seems that had those two not come to this Zone and had we not managed to escape due to the actions of these 'fine guests'..." he motioned to the caged Eggman's forces, "...Our race would have gone extinct on Mobius. Truly a pity and the failure of the Knuckles Clan as expected."

"Lord Kragok," an echidna spoke, kneeling once they approached.

"Speak, Cara-Na," Kragok informed.

"Thank you, milord. We have finished studying the strange container and have confirmed what the prisoner known as 'Clove' has spoken. It is indeed a chamber that has become encased in crystallized energy from the Master Emerald. This device was the cause of our escape from the Twilight Cage," Cara-Na informed as she motioned towards the Emerald Siphon.

"A device that drains the Master Emerald without need of the Prayer," Kragok noted, "Most interesting. A pity we are unable to reverse engineer it due to its current state."

"And what of the prisoners?"

"Corrin has managed to get much from the one known as 'Clove,'" Cara-Na replied.

"Yes...Her implants did speak to me of her being the one who would prefer 'peace' over conquering through might," Kragok snorted, "Pathetic…"

"They are named the 'Dark Legion' through the other Lien-Da's actions of their leader, one known as 'Dr. Eggman,'" Cara-Na informed, "He is an Overlander…"

"Bah. She degrades herself allying with an Overlander," Xenin spat.

"Xenin, control yourself or I will," Kragok warned, his eyes glowing ominously.

"...Understood, milord…"

"Good," Kragok nodded as the glow diminished before walking up to the cage, "I will give you a single chance: tell me how to find Lien-Da, or I will trigger the internal Roboticizer within each of you one at a time until you tell me."

"?!" the prisoners tensed at that.

"And trust me..it will be mercy compared to what will happen when Lord Enerjak finishes with you."

"..."


"How you holdin' up?" Manic asked, sitting beside Knuckles on the inner chamber's shrine.

"A bit bewildered...and overwhelmed," Knuckles replied, "I mean...Last year, after Athair died...I thought there were no other Echidnas left. But now?" he motioned out to the multiple tents in the makeshift village, "Now there's so many. And some of them are from another Zone where I somehow died and came back to life. And none of them are able to return to their homes because it no longer exists. And Julie-Su's looking like she's strong..." he looked over at where Julie-Su was managing to keep up a smile as Saffron was talking excitedly to her while Roll stood with them, nodding at points, "...but I can tell she's hurting so much over this and what's happened with her friend."

"...Ya know, back when Bro's Zone Double was here...It wasn't the first time we ever met Zone Doubles," Manic noted, making Knuckles look at him, "When Bro, Sis, and I were all fourteen, this 'Zonic' dude showed up with this 'Prime Sonic' dude, which is where these Echidnas come from. It...It was pretty shockin' to Sis and me that in all those Zones...In that whole multiverse...we're not even in a thousandth of what's out there in different Zones. It's like we're just a side note in the whole multiverse when it comes to Zones. Bro doesn't try t' say or show it, but it hurts him a whole lot more than us. Before Ben and Makoto showed up, I'd sometimes overhear him in his sleep, mumblin' 'bout bein' scared that he'll wake up one day and...and it'd just be a dream. That he'd wake up and me and Sis aren't real...that Mom ain't real...that so much that he knows is true just...isn't." he tapped his shoulder with a fist, "You're actin' just like him right now, ya know."

"?! Ugh...Gag me with a spoon full of tartar sauce…" Knuckles muttered.

"Look, I'm just sayin' that you're not alone in feelin' all weird 'bout this whole multiverse thing," Manic noted, "Sure those folks ain't got their old home anymore, but from what Remington said, it's not their first time havin' ta relocate; just the first in terms of Zone travellin'. If ya give it time, I'm sure they'll see you and not th' other you and they'll stop with the makin' things awkward bit."

"...Yeah…" Knuckles noted, "There are times that Julie-Su talks to me like the Knuckles she knew, but those are happening less often lately, so I guess it's just going to have to take some patience on my end. Still... after we deal with that Dark Legion group, then what? The entire island's littered in traps and so many things could happen."

"They're your people, Knuckles," Manic replied, "Angel Island back when it was on the mainland was their home a long time ago, but now it's your place. Still glad that Sis made you do that paperwork?"

"Ugh...My hand still cramps whenever I think of all those papers," Knuckles cringed, "But...looking back at it now after what's gone down today so far? Kinda worth it…"

"We can always ask if Ben can go Clockwork and make some of the ruins here all nice and new to help with temp housin'," Manic noted, looking over at where Ben, Shade, Lien-Da, Shade's team, Sonia, and Sonic were discussing things as Shockwave was projecting a hologram of Angel Island from his optic, zooming in on various points at times.

"Maybe," Knuckles replied before looking over at the elderly Echidna looking at the murals, "...I wonder what he's looking for in these old markings?"

"Eh, could always ask," Manic shrugged as he jumped down the steps.

"Manic, no," Knuckles spoke, quickly following as the green hedgehog walked over to the elderly Echidna.

Said elder was a dark red in color with traces of white in his dreadlocks and impressive beard. His ungloved hands held a wooden staff and showed off the small stubbs that had once been a pair of spikes that had been lost. He was muttering as he looked them over.

"Hey, dude. 'Sup?" Manic greeted, making the echidna pause.

"...What is that word you used?" the echidna asked, raising a brow.

"Forgive Manic. He talks using a lot of what's called 'Slang,'" Knuckles apologized.

"Knuckles here was curious 'bout what you were doin'," Manic stated.

"Manic…" Knuckles seethed before the older echidna chuckled.

"I'm merely looking at how much of my mother's visions remained," he noted, looking back at the murals, "She was a seer and made each and every one of these murals by hand when I was but freshly hatched from my egg."

"Your mom made all these?" Manic asked in surprise.

"Yes. The Imperator before Ix always listened to her when she 'saw' something," the echidna noted, "The last one before she died was a warning of us preparing for a period of suffering followed by what she calls 'the existence made from three' defeating Enerjak's next Avatar before we would have time to rebuild, to prosper in a time of many changes. I cannot help but wonder if any of her murals of the Embodiment of Chaos can shine light on her final visions."

"Embodiment of Chaos?"

"Yes. When I was little, my father told me of what my mother said when she finished the murals. 'The Hedgehog...He who is born of three. He will be Chaos Incarnate, the Wind's Chosen. A dark fate shall befall the three before the Chaos Incarnate will unite the three. The Two born with the Hedgehog of Chaos Incarnate will have destinies their own, yet none will be able to fulfil without the others. A Man who Lives amongst Metal will attempt to inflict Chaos upon all, yet the Embodiment of Chaos will expose the Man to what true Chaos is. The Embodiment of Water itself, turned to Destruction, will be soothed by this Chaos Incarnate. The False Embodiment will gain advantage for a time before He triumphs and save the land from Sins of the Past. The Embodiment of Chaos...The Chosen of the Wind...They will be born to one who will be of three.'"

"..." the two younger Mobians shared looks with one another before the echidna gasped.

"Ah, my apologies to you both. I am Nestor. Nestor the Wise," the echidna introduced himself, "It's quite nice to know some are curious about the past."

"Neat," Manic nodded, "Name's Manic, Nestor."

"Knuckles. A pleasure," Knuckles added.

"Manic and Knuckles...A fine name, Manic," Nestor noted, "And one full of meaning in yours, Knuckles."

"Meaning in my name?"

"Yes. You are the last living child of our brother tribe, the Knuckles Clan," Nestor replied, "Your name is the name of your tribe itself."

"?! Really?" Knuckles asked before pulling out the red Chaos Emerald and shook it, causing Tikal to pop out in her full form.

"Ah! Knuckles…" Tikal groaned, holding her head, "I may be a spirit, but I can still get dizzy…"

"Tikal, why didn't you say my name was the name of our tribe?" Knuckles asked as Nestor looked at Tikal with wide, surprised eyes.

"I thought you already know," Tikal replied before noticing Nestor, "?! Uncle Nestor?"

"Tikal?"

"UNCLE?!" Manic and Knuckles exclaimed.

"My dear, you...You're a spirit," Nestor realized.

"Yes. After...After you and the Nocturnus vanished...Father…He attacked the Chaos Emerald Shrine and...and Chaos…" Tikal inhaled deeply, fighting off tears, "I had to use the Prayer Mother taught me to seal Chaos into the Master Emerald, but it also bound my soul to the Emeralds." she looked over at Knuckles and then to over where Sonic was, "Grandmother's vision came true, Uncle. The Chaos Incarnate exists and pacified Chaos." she gasped, "Oh no! With everything going on, I forgot about Chaos and all the animals!"

"We'll look for them, Tikal," Knuckles assured, "But again...He's your uncle?"

"On her mother's side. It was arranged so that neither Tribe would attack the other," Nestor explained, "Never did like Pachamac. The fool was blinded by delusions of power and grandeur." he hugged Tikal, "Still...It soothes my old bones to know a piece of my family is still around."

"Oh uncle…" Tikal sniffled, returning the hug.

"...This current state of yours doesn't prevent you from eating, does it?"

"No. I can enjoy that even though I don't need to," Tikal replied.

"Perfect. Once things are settled, we can make Rock Soup like the old days."

"Oh yes please!" Tikal beamed, "I've tried on my own, but it just never comes out right."

"...?" Manic raised a brow.

"Do not ask," Knuckles whispered, earning a nod from the green hedgehog.


"Okay, so from what our informants managed to get before they had to leave to avoid being discovered, your troops are at the Master Emerald Shrine," Remington noted, looking at Lien-Da, "And, unfortunately, the Dark Legion have made the small island connected to the main part of the island their base of operations."

"Knux is not going to like that," Sonic cringed.

"When doesn't he not like anyone near the Master Emerald?" Remington asked.

"Fair point," Sonic chuckled as Shockwave made the hologram show the ME Shrine.

"Since they've made that their base, then it means that we would be dealing with the majority of their forces," Shockwave noted, "I would suggest that we send out the strongest members in the Nocturnus and our groups with a small stealth force to get in, get the captured, and escape."

"We would need to ask Imperator Ix about that," Shade noted, "I…"

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!-!-!-!"

"?!" Shade's eyes widened before rushing off.

"Shade, wait up!" Remington called, running after her.

Ben turned on the Omnitrix as he followed after. He slapped down on it and a flash of light went off. When the light died down, he blinked twice before looking down. Instead of Fasttrack like he was going for, he was now a small child-sized creature covered in blue fur. He was wearing a green jumpsuit with black triangles on his chest and on the elbows of his four arms. His hands ended in black claws while spines grew out of his back. He reached up and tugged on two large ears before feeling his face. His mouth was large along with his flat blue nose. Looking back down, he found the Omnitrix on his chest.

"Eh?" he pondered, "What this? Feel weird...Why want to reverse street signs, clog toilets, and eat all the left shoes?"

"Aw great. New alien at a time like this?" Sonic asked before picking him up and running after the two Echidnas followed by the others as they went into the tunnels.

"Shade, stop! We're going to get lost!" Remington called.

"Oh this be bad…" Grimm noted, his mask over his head along with Knix.

"That was the Imperator that just screamed and Shade is, well...um…" Knix trailed off, "Yeah…"

"Fanatical?" Lien-Da guessed.

"Yes," Knix stated.

"That way! That way!" Ben called, pointing at a tunnel ahead while holding onto the top of Sonic's head.

"Huh?" Sonic pondered.

"Big ears! Thinking fast!" Ben explained.

"Talking dumbed down," Ragna snorted.

"Hey! Ichaba gabba galook!" Ben barked.

"Oh my!" Roll gasped, "Ben-san, that was rude!"

"Eh? You understood it?"

"It sounds a bit like Yacker, so it's kinda easy," Roll replied.

"Great...So he can insult folks but only you'll get it," Ragna snorted before Ben looked down at Sonic before grabbing some of Sonic's quills and tugged.

"Gyeh!" Sonic yelped as he turned down the tunnel before Ben tugged again and made him turn into another, "Are you controlling me with my quills?!"

"Ih! Ih!" Ben nodded.

"I swear that if you're grabbing at the skin under them, I'm making you pay for the stitches," Sonic warned.

"Ooh! Stitch like name!" B...Stitch grinned, "Go, go, go!"

"...I think we have another Jury Rigg…" Sonic grumbled.

"...He better not mess with the bus," Manic added.

"Last turn!" Stitch called, tugging and making Sonic turn a corner...before skidding to a halt, "Ooh…" his ears drooped, "...Naga."

"?!" Grimm, Remington, and Knix stiffened with wide eyes.

Before them, collapsed on the ground was Ix. Despite the darkness, the unmistakable scent of spilt blood was fresh as well as the patches of red on his ruined, tattered attire. Well...that and the fact that his staff was going through his chest.

"IMPERATOR~!" Shade screeched, despair heavy in her voice.


GT: And things are going so mixed for all.

SZ: Oh massively...and again so sorry for the delay with this chapter. Once more...real life caught up, and other fics to work on.

GT: Yep. And this is just part 2 of 4. So hope you all read and review please!