Chapter 10

"Ephemeral Wrath, Wrathful Dreamer"

Upon waking up after their all-too-brief rest at Acornopolis, two alarms - two different alarms - sound simultaneously, sending guards and soldiers running all over the place. Sally leads Sonic toward the top of the castle to take a look at their foes on the outside, while Elias and Metal head toward the forces more directly. Fang takes off toward the source of the second alarm: a jailbreak that seems to have the prison guards in an uproar.

Sally and Sonic spring into action as soon as the Phis get in close, with Sally starting to show off some new moves, projecting an energy blade from her armored hand while her other arm emits an energy shield of its own. Sonic fights beside her, no longer half so shocked as the thrill of the fight against an army rushes through his veins. Metal provides aerial support, taking out groups of Phis, while Elias hangs back and protects the gate alongside the soldiers.

Meanwhile, passing alongside Fang is a strange being in black, carrying a scimitar like an extension of his arm. They head to the same place, realizing the source of panic simultaneously: Tails has turned feral, and is shrouded in flame and lightning, screaming "He is sleeping!!" as he dispatches - but does not kill - guards. The feral fox darts past Fang and the mystery creature, hindering their progress with fireballs and hypnotic effects as he rushes outside.

As the fighting continues outside against the army of Phis, a wall of Metaldiers begins to form - and Tails, crackling with energy in a strange, supernatural fury, lays waste to the lot of them, finishing with a powerful explosion that knocks Slash and Simian alike far from the battlefield. Just as the battle is won, however, Tails promptly lands... and falls asleep, reverting to normal.

While Fang and the mystery creature - a fox, calling himself "Dervish of the Ronin Kitsune" - converse, and medics take an injured Elias into the medical bay, Metal holds a conversation with Metal X at a distance, with X warning Metal against fighting them now. Sonic, however, will hear none of it, and he gathers Sally, Metal, and Fang to help him take the other robots on. At first, they seem to hold an advantage, as Crusher is less able to fight while he tries to carry the fallen Slash and Simian; however, Metal X reveals his true might, taking on the whole group of Freedom Fighters and leaving them battered on the battlefield, taking minimal damage himself. No longer would Metal X perceive Metal as a wayward brother - and he swears to no longer show mercy to the living Freedom Fighters...

Chapter 9

"Acorn's Aftermath"

While Asura recovers - and Sonic sleeps - in Neo-Mobotropolis, Tails contemplates the events of the past night, realizing how much has changed about himself and everyone and everything around him. Others attempt to comfort him, but to no avail... especially when Tails goes back to work, only to find that Lobo's body seems to have walked out on its own. Metal finds that the apparent resurrection is thanks to the fox's experimental healing nanites, which can no longer be found.

Pulling at the strings of their attention, however, is another fox - one of Tails' contacts. He calls the team to the outskirts of Acornopolis, but Tails chooses to take his time and his own personal craft. After a brief meeting with Teumesian "Kit" Alopex, the oversized techie-fox, Elias, Metal, Fang, and James rest until nightfall, waiting for Sonic and Tails to arrive.

As the party reforms, they are shown a new Acornopolis - both foreboding and welcoming, techno-sigils glowing a soft neon blue. The city has been aided by a mysterious benefactor thanks to Tails, but the fox seems to have no desire to remain. What feelings of nostalgia - or confusion - they may have are set to the side as Kit detects the elite Phis from the Nightmare entering the city and searching for something. The team rushes in to investigate (with some frustration, as Tails tries to stay out of the city) and battle lines are drawn with the odd Phis, who have taken to calling themselves Biggs and Wedge. The battle is short and the robots escape as the guards provide a distraction: Arresting Tails, and leading nearly everybody else into an audience with Queen Sally Acorn. (Fang, being a hidden sniper, snuck in after them.)

Sally explains little, but her appearance has changed; one eye, one arm, and possible other hidden places have been modified with black robotics and blue sigils, and her vest, boots, and shorts are all black as well. While she introduces herself to Metal and James, Tails refuses to look at her, and Sonic is stunned into shock.

Fang, however, notices none of this, as he tries to distract the four guards outside the audience chamber with a rock.

There is a short discussion, and Sally's guests are led to their rooms: James and Sonic are given guest rooms, Fang is retained - and put on the payroll - before he's given a place to stay for the night, Metal is directed to the science lab to recharge, and Tails is put into the prison. No one offers an explanation - just a chance to rest...

Chapter 8

"The Waking Nightmare"

As the Nightmare began to soar into the sky, Sonic and Metal managed to convince Fang to drop them off on the ship. However, this happened rather literally, leaving the two stranded and forced into quite a spot as Koumori attacked with living cubes of bioelectric gelatin. Metal and Sonic cut their way into the ship, but the cubes followed behind, stranding Metal on one side and Sonic - facing off against Geoffrey - on the other. When Metal attempted to work his way around to aid Sonic, a pair of elite Phi blocked his way, forcing him back into another room.

Meanwhile, Tails prepared himself to die while Elias remained behind, hunting for an antidote through James' books of alchemy. Lobo Silverblood, however, strode into the compound, bearing gifts: A syringe of Mega Mack antidote in one paw, a shard of Elias' Sword of Light in the other. Lobo talked his way into Tails' room, sealing Elias off and preparing to make a devil's bargain with Tails for the antidote even as he talked the fox out of letting the poison kill him. In a twisted surge of fury, however, Tails responded to receiving the antidote with a screwdriver through Lobo's chest, leaving him for dead and allowing Elias to take the sword shard.

Back on the Nightmare, Asura stepped into battle with Geoffrey most unexpectedly, using her skill with the whip to stun and stall the skunk while Sonic regrouped with Metal. With Sonic providing a distraction against the Phi pair, Metal disabled the robots while Geoffrey tried to chase Asura down; however, he chose to take a separate path, directly to his Master. Asura used the extra time to bind hers and Sonic's wounds before they split up, with Metal luring the purple cubes into an engine while Sonic and Asura distracted Geoffrey and Koumori. As the engine began to fail, Sonic released James from his chains and carried him out, leaping into the Marvelous Queen; Asura was not so lucky, as Geoffrey and she launched into a small skirmish, ending with Asura nearly losing her arm due to a botched disarm attempt. She, too, escaped, but her arm was badly injured.

The Nightmare landed in the mountains, and the heroes headed for home - where surprises would await them...

Chapter 7

"No Thing is Sacred"

It was a dark day in Neo-Mobotropolis when Metal, fighting against himself, found himself in the middle of kidnapping Asura and James. Utilizing abilities at another's command that he didn't realize he had, Metal stunned the group and carried the medics away to the Robotic Empire, laying them at Slash's talons before being commanded to return to Neo-Mobotropolis. Upon his return to the base, Metal explains that his free will had been overridden by the only person that could have done so: Tails.

Meanwhile, Slash trades Asura and James off to Koumori in exchange for the White Chaos Emerald, whose mystic energies cause James to tingle and become fluffy. The deal is done, and Koumori leads Geoffrey, Asura, and James underneath the bunker inside his home. His insidious plan is simple: Gather the Chaos Emeralds using James as a detector and his new warship: the Nightmare.

As the villains and their hostages prepare to take off, Tails is forced to prove his innocence, even as he grows more ill from the slow-acting poison. Metal repairs himself, removing the ability to override him as well as limiting himself to his most basic equipment. Sonic demands Fang prepare the Marvelous Queen to go after Asura and James.

Fang refuses.

Chapter 6

"What Holds the White Chaos Emerald?"

There was a message on Tails' computer from an entity referring to itself only as "Kit." However, Tails wasn't there, so Geoffrey was the first to see it: A Chaos Emerald had been located in the Toxic Caves, on the outskirts of the Robotic Empire. As each hero noticed, they made preparations and rushed to the location, despite their weariness; Surge remained behind, too injured to go on another adventure just yet.

The Toxic Caves, however, had become a little stranger - there was music playing in the background. It would only get worse.

A wolf, Lobo Silverblood, waited for them, ears perked to catch Geoffrey announce their presence and reason for arriving. He stalled Geoffrey and Fang at the entry while Sonic and Metal zoomed past, actually flirting with the heroes before allowing them the chance to pass, toying with them by asking why their mission has went from being Emerald location to 'a poke-around mission.'

Geoffrey, of course, demanded to know how Lobo knew why they were there...

Moving on, however, Geoffrey only began to act more oddly, humming the song in the background as though he knew it. Indeed, the singer - a purple bat by the name of Koumori - revealed that Geoffrey was a traitor to them, and as Geoffrey switched sides, a battle in earnest began to unfold. Screams and whimpers echoed through the chamber during the fight from another room, and the fight was shifting toward Koumori and Geoffrey, until Elias Acorn appeared and evened the odds. The match ended when Fang managed to set a small fire to Koumori, burning and terrifying him. He and Geoffrey ran away, taking the Chaos Emerald with them and leaving their prisoner - Tails - behind.

Unknown to the team, even as they rescued the two-tailed fox, was the poison coursing through his veins...

Chapter 5

"Crusher! The Fight is Brought to the Heroes!"

There is no rest for the weary or the wicked, they say, and so it went.

Behind an army of Phi and a group of Metaldiers, a massive tank of a robot rolled right up to the gates of Neo-Mobotropolis. Sonic spearheaded the counterassault, fighting through Phi robots to get to his metallic clones as Metal rushed ahead. Fang, Tails, and Geoffrey made surgical strikes, assassinating robots through sniping and stealth, while Surge rushed forward to attack more directly, attacking any robot that came to him.

Meanwhile, the titanic Crusher merely watched, issuing his challenge as the "Mechanilord of Justice in the Holy Godbotnik's Empire." He demanded the return of Sonic, but when the heroes refused, Crusher attacked - swallowing Surge and mimicking his electrical abilities! Tails kept out of the fight, unable to help the team other than to point out weak spots as the battle continued. Sonic and Metal teamed up to launch a ferocious assault while Geoffrey and Fang continued their pinpoint attacks and Surge fought back from within.

Just as suddenly as he appeared, however, Crusher left without a word, leaving Surge behind and rolling away on mysterious instructions from Slash...

Chapter 4

"A Moment of Respite and Recovery"

Upon the return of the heroes to Neo-Mobotropolis, it is decided that everyone should take a break to rest and heal. Asura Vixen, a skilled healer, and James the Raccoon, Surge's adopted son, have their paws full as they go from one person to another. Making things worse is Geoffrey St. John, a skunk and consummate spy, when he comes in, severely wounded himself. Not to be outdone, Fang calls the spy out, getting into repeated bickering matches that wring every last bit of patience out of the healers working on them.

Meanwhile, Tails does some research with the information he had gathered, Sonic tagging along behind and jumpy after his ordeals of the past years. They soon theorize that there's going to be a third robot master of the Robotic Empire - the remaining, upgraded member of the SSSSS Squad - and can only wonder what's going to happen when they confront him.

Without a plan, it's all the heroes can do to try to get some sleep.

Chapter 3

"Rising Hero, Risen Foes"

On a hunch - or a dream - Tails sets out from the fortress that Neo-Mobotropolis has become, followed by Metal and a new Freedom Fighter, Surge, a blue-skinned arctic fox with an affinity for electricity. Tails leads his friends to an out-of-the-way facility in the backlands of the Robotic Empire, a small yet heavily guarded bunker that led the trio underground. What they found there would shock them all: a highly advanced Metal Sonic, an apelike robot with a jewel in its forehead, and a traumatized Sonic the Hedgehog.

While Tails rushed to help Sonic - who at first thought Tails to be an illusion - Metal and Surge engaged in combat with Simian, who proved not to be familiar, but equally formidable with his strange control over the elements. Surge's electrical powers proved to be helpful in subduing Simian, but before he or Metal could deliver the finishing strike, Metal X - the advanced Metal Sonic - awoke from his table. Even newly awakened, Metal X stopped both Metal and Surge, allowing them all to escape unharmed... for now.

Tails bought them time by collapsing the main hallway to the underground shelter with a bomb, but they would need that time to heal.

Chapter 2

"Slash, Lord of the Empire"

The infiltrators into the Robotic Empire would soon discover that the new keeper of the throne was a robot, himself - an anthropomorphic gryphon with disturbingly familiar features and a zealous belief in "the Godbotnik." Slash the Robo-Gryphon took on Metal and Fang with the help of an army of Metaldiers, but not before Fang attempted to disrupt them all with an explosive that took Chaos out of the picture. (He's water. He'll be fine.) Metal's speed was intense and Fang's resourcefulness nearly boundless, but between Slash's sheer power and command over the Metaldiers, the heroes were soundly thrashed, with Fang even losing his tail in the fight. The heroes beat a hasty (and wise) retreat, sending Tails the intelligence they had managed to garner.

Chapter 1

"Infiltration of the Fallen Empire"

Thus begun the newest war against the Robotic Empire.

During the past couple of years since Sonic's disappearance and Doctor Robotnik's apparent death, there had always been the hope that the Robotic Empire would shut down. However, peace would not last - a few months of inactivity were broken when the factories began automating themselves under new supervision. Tails, trying to make up for mysterious past mistakes, gathers information after dispatching the mercenary Fang, the reprogrammed prototype Metal Sonic, and the water spirit Chaos to the Robotic Empire. Their goal: Find out who, or what, was running the Robotic Empire.

What they discovered - in the next Chapter - would answer their question, only to raise more...