GeneX Generations
Chapter 18 - The Eggmen's Revenge
Stages - Planet Wisp, Terminal Velocity - Sonic Colors
Additional Stage - Eggmanland - Sonic Unleashed
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
"Wake up, living day by day.
Do what I want, and I'll do it my way.
The world is flying right below my feet.
Got no regrets inside of me.
Not looking back!
Not giving up!
Not letting go!
I'll keep on running!" - Reach for the Stars, Sonic Colors
The story thus far:
Bucky assembled Sonic's friends and associates to combat Dr. Eggman and the Time Eater, and they each explored the white limbo Time Eater had created, searching for clues and freeing more of their frozen companions. Along the way, they battled with Eggman's forces, witnessing Eggman Nega acquiring materials at Sky Babylon, and finding a vital clue at Shamar. Soon, Eggman launched Final Fortress through a portal, sending it to attack Bucky at Shadow Arcangel, but with the help of Sonic and Knuckles, Copter & Dimentime were able to bring down the fortress and protect Bucky, though Eggman escaped while managing to let Sonic continue to believe he'd been "kidnapped" by Time Eater. As Copter, Dimentime, and Knuckles escaped Final Fortress aboard the Hurricane, they found Shadow Arcangel was airborne once again, and decided to fly to it in order to ask those on board for information. Particularly, Copter realized that he still had to find Katie the coyote, who was still unaccounted for!
Now, on to the next chapter!
Copter, Dimentime and Knuckles arrived at Shadow Arcangel's control room to find Team GeneX busily running to and fro. Zipp was piloting the ship, while Vortex and Crash seemed to be gathering tools and gadgets for a project Bucky was working on in the corner. Punchy and Rouge were arguing about something nearby, and when they saw Knuckles enter, they ran over and started shouting at him! "What's their problem, Rainbow?" Copter asked. "Never put them in the same room together, Two... Just don't do it..." Rainbow sighed. Bucky glanced around and nodded. "Zipp told me you were on the way. Unless you have news, leave me be. I'm busy!" he grumbled. Copter looked around. "And all the shouting doesn't bother you, but I do?" he muttered. Crash held his ears. "No, it bothers us... But we gotta keep moving, so they can't leave." he grunted. "Eggman'sss after usss." Vortex hissed. Dimentime nodded. "We've noticed." he said. "We must be on to something. We'll be able to restore the world to its former state if my calculations are right... But I need more time!" Bucky said. Mia got up from a chair in the corner and approached Copter. "Find Katie yet?" she asked. Copter shook his head. "I was hoping someone here might have heard something..." he said. Mia frowned. "Razor hasn't come back yet... I've got a bad feeling about this..." she sighed. "He can't even get back on board, silly!" Rainbow pointed out. Zipp buzzed loudly. "Hey! If you guys are wondering where to go next, I've got news for ya! There's only one place left!" he shouted. Copter and Dimentime ran up to the front of the control room to look out the windshield. "What do you mean??" Copter asked. Looking out, they quickly got the idea. Every area in white space had started out with large splotches of whited out areas, or were entirely devoid of color. Now, however, color had been restored to each location Time Eater had sucked into the white world, save for one. "You and Sonic obviously went through all those places." Zipp said. "And Sonic's probably already on his way through that last one." Dimentime realized. "Well, unless we missed people in places we've already been to, Katie's gotta be there. We better check it out." Copter said. Dimentime nodded, and they headed off to where they left the Hurricane. "Hey, wait!! Don't leave me with these morons!" Knuckles shouted. "Morons!?" Punchy growled. "That's it!!" Rouge yelled as the three of them started brawling! "We're going to have to let those three off the ship if my project is going to get done..." Bucky grumbled.
The final location Time Eater had taken was Planet Wisp, a small planet Dr. Eggman had attempted to make use of in his most recent scheme. The Sonics decided to race through this final area, but since Modern Sonic had already been through it before, he'd had a bit of an unfair advantage and exited Planet Wisp first. On his way out, he spotted a frozen Charmy Bee, and walked over to free him. As his color returned, Charmy stretched his arms and then did a midair flip before speaking to Sonic. "I was scared because somebody took me..." he said fearfully, "But now I'm FREE!! I'm a free bee! Free bee! Free bee! Wheeee!!" he cheered, leaping into the air and giving Sonic a thumb's up. Sonic scratched his head, looking a tad annoyed. "Hey, have you seen Espio and Vector?" Charmy asked. "Oh, uh... Yeah, they're around, somewhere..." Sonic said, looking around awkwardly. Just then, Classic Sonic emerged from Planet Wisp and waved to them. "Hey, Sonic! Uh... Wait... Sonic??" Charmy gasped, looking back and forth between Classic and Modern Sonic quickly. "Um... Okay!! I feel twice as safe with two of you here!" he grinned. Classic Sonic smiled and nodded, while Modern Sonic shrugged. "All right... Tag along for a bit, I guess... We gotta check out what's ahead!" he said. With Charmy in tow, they hurried forward and found a large door, similar to the doors to the Death Egg and Station Square. Like before, this door was locked. "Well, looks like we gotta go hunt for keys again..." Sonic said. "I bet I can find 'em! I'm a brilliant detective! Just ask Vector!" Charmy smirked. However, while he was talking, Sonic and Classic Sonic had run off without him! "Huh!? Hey!! You... forgot me..." he muttered. Disappointed, he headed back to Planet Wisp, There, he found Espio and Vector waiting for him! "There you are, Charmy!" Vector said. "Guys! How'd you find me?" he said excitedly. "This... was the only place left to check..." Espio said, a little embarrassed, "My training appears insufficient..." he grumbled. "Aw, chill, Espio! Now that the team's back together, we'll have this case wrapped up in no time!" he said. "What case?" Charmy asked. "You kiddin' me? The case of the monster that ate reality, duh!" Vector snapped. While they were talking, Copter and Dimentime walked by and entered Planet Wisp. "Hey, Vector, didja know there are two Sonics and two Copters? Are there two of me, too?" he asked. Vector glanced back at Copter and Dimentime. "Huh...? Um, no, Charmy... One of you's enough... C'mon, boys! I'm bettin' something's up!" he said, leading Espio and Charmy into Planet Wisp after them!
Copter and Dimentime glanced back as they heard Vector calling out to them. "Wait up, you guys! What's the rush?" he shouted. Copter crossed his arms. "This is the last place to check out. Eggman's gonna make his move soon, probably." he said. "Awww, you mean I missed EVERYTHING?" Charmy whined. Vector smiled. "You'll want our help checkin' this place out, then! We've been here before!" he said. Copter and Dimentime looked around the area. The landscape was lush and green, with all sorts of unusual plant life growing all around, most notably trees with oval shaped tops. "Um... Yeah, I guess we could use some help..." Dimentime muttered. Suddenly, a message came from a PA system, drawing their attention to buildings under construction not far away. The voice they heard was that of Dr. Eggman! "Attention guests. If you can hear this message, you are trespassing in an area still under renovation. If you are not a robot, please return to the main park areas and ignore anything evil you might have seen here. Thank you." Eggman said. "Park!?" Dimentime blurted. "Woo hoo! We're back in Eggman's Theme Park! I wanna go on some rides again!" Charmy cheered. Copter sighed. "Oh, yeah... The park was Eggman's last crazy scheme. I didn't see this place, though..." he muttered. Vector grabbed Charmy by the wings. "Settle down! We're here on business!" he said. "Awww!" Charmy groaned. Another PA message played, this one really quick. "Some-displacement-of-indigenous-aliens-and-destruction-of-natural-resources-may-occur. Eggman-Enterprises-not-responsible." Eggman said hurriedly. "HUH?" everyone mumbled, unable to make out what he was saying due to how fast he spoke. Just then, they heard a laser blast, and a pair of robots dashed by, chasing a bunch of strange creatures! "Arrr!! Avast, ye alien scallywags! Stay still!!" shouted a yellow and black robot made up of cubes, which resembled Orbot. In fact, the other robot was Orbot, having received a new, red paint job since the planet had been split apart. "Don't simply yell at them, Cubot! Use your net!" Orbot suggested. The creatures they were chasing were small aliens that had various shapes, colors, and numbers of eyes. They all had exactly three tendrils on their undersides, though those also came in different shapes, depending on the type of alien. "Hey! They're chasing around those alien guys!" Charmy shouted. Dimentime stared in disbelief. "Flying... squids??" he muttered. Copter shrugged. "I think they're... good aliens." he said uncertainly. "Well, this is suspicious enough for me! Let's interrogate those robots, boys!" Vector said, stomping after Orbot and Cubot. Espio nodded. "I'll cover you." he muttered, following after him. Cubot was closing in on an alien with his net at this point. "Yaarrr... Now I got ye, landlubber! Err... Air-lubber?" he muttered in confusion. Before he could swing his net, Espio struck it out of his hand with a ninja star! "Yeow!! Who be keepin' me from me plunder!?" he stammered. "Um... Why are you talking like a pirate...?" Copter asked. "Oh, he's just got the wrong voice chip. Don't pay it any mind." Orbot explained. "Yaaarrr!! Ye best be mindin' yer own business, mateys! We gotta be plunderin' these alien, errr... whips, and get 'em back to our capp'n!" Cubot said. "They're called 'Wisps,' not whips." Orbot sighed. Vector stood there with his arms crossed, looking down at the diminutive robots in front of him. "Did you just threaten me, pipsqueak?" he growled. Cubot grabbed for his net. "En guarde! Eh? Arr... Beggin' yer pardon... I seem to have misplaced me cutlass..." he murmured. Orbot pulled out a small remote. "I'll call for backup, then!" he said. With a push of a button, larger, more dangerous robots came to their aid! Bee robots called Buzzers flew in their direction, accompanied by Egg Pawns! Some of the Egg Pawns were wearing hard hats and carrying pickaxes, apparently having been working on the construction of Eggman's theme park. "Go on, go get them! We have... to go!" Orbot said, scurrying away! "Yarr!! Abandon ship!" Cubot added, following him. The Wisps had already escaped while they were distracted, so all they could do was flee. Charmy stared at the Buzzers. "Hey, copycats! You making fun of bees!? Lemme at em! Lemme at em!" he shouted, punching his fists around. The buzzers shot at him in retaliation, but Espio quickly shoved him out of the way! "Keep on your guard, Charmy." he warned. The Construction Pawns tossed their pickaxes at Copter and Vector, and they ran out of the way as the picks spun around in the air, turned, and then came back to the pawns like boomerangs! "Hey! How dare you defy the laws of physics!! ...on... an alien... planet... OK, I guess they get away with it." Copter grumbled. Dimentime and Espio quickly went to work taking out the robots with magic and throwing stars respectively, and made quick work of the small group of enemies. "Shall we?" Dimentime said, motioning for them to get going. "Awww, I wanted to smash a bee-bot!" Charmy whined. Vector glanced around and caught sight of something in the grass before they started to go. "Hey... what's this over here?" he said, picking up a white glove on the ground. "Hm? That's... weird... Think Sonic dropped it when he went through here?" Copter wondered. Charmy shook his head. "No way, guys! Look! It almost fits me!" he said, comparing it to his small, child's hand. "...Younger Sonic?" Copter suggested. Vector shook his head. "I dunno. I'll hang on to this..." he muttered.
They soon reached the buildings Eggman's robots were constructing. Whatever rides Eggman had in mind for his theme park, one thing was for sure: it wouldn't pass a safety inspection. Buzz saws of varying sizes, missile launchers, and spike traps were laid out amidst the construction signs and various machines the Egg Pawns were using in the construction. "Seems to me the theme of this park is either pointy objects... or 'GET THAT HEDGEHOG!!'" Copter mused, imitating Eggman a bit as he shouted the last bit. Charmy chuckled. "Um... I'd say keep guessing, Copter!" he said. Wisps were floating all around, hiding a little after having escaped Orbot and Cubot, but would peer out of their hiding places as Copter, Dimentime and Team Chaotix passed them. "Those, uh, 'Wisps,' are kinda freaking me out..." Dimentime muttered. Espio looked around. "The Flickies don't seem to mind them..." he said. This comment made everyone stop and look around more carefully. Espio was right. There were Flickies flying around among the Wisps! "Cool! Colorful birds and colorful aliens! It's like... some kinda rainbow... um... zoo?" Charmy said. "I hope the aliens aren't too offended by that..." Copter muttered. Vector held his snout curiously. "There sure weren't Flickies here on our last visit..." he said. The Flickies looked a bit sad; worried, even. "Well, let's keep going. We gotta see if Katie's here..." Copter said. They proceeded through the building, evading buzz saws and the occasional missiles as they went. Copter soon stopped to catch his breath near a blue hatch on the floor. "This place is crazy. I'm sure glad I didn't pay to get in!" he complained. Suddenly, the hatch opened up, and a segmented enemy with a laser in its mouth popped out! It was a Sandworm, but Copter jumped as he saw its impeccable resemblance to another robot he very much hated; the Caterkiller from the Marble Zone. "Y-Y-YOU!!! Get away from me you psychotic kamikaze bot!!!" Copter shrieked, jumping into Vector's arms. "What the!? What's your problem!?" he grunted. Dimentime was about to handle it, but instead, Charmy charged at the robot and smashed it with his stinger! "Ha! Take that!" he taunted. Suddenly, they noticed a couple of Wisps fly away from inside the robot! "Hey! There were aliens inside!" Charmy gasped. Dimentime nodded. "Come to think of it, some Wisps flew out of the robots with the hard hats, too..." he realized. "They must be from this time period..." Copter suggested. Just then, even more blue hatches opened up, revealing more Sandworms guarding the area! Copter jumped out of Vector's arms and growled. "All right! No bot makes a monkey outta me! Come here!!" he shouted, jumping over some laser balls that the robots fired at him and smashing one with a tail whip! The others turned and took out the other Sandworms, freeing Wisps as they did! Some more colorful Wisps nearby watched them fighting, and glanced at each other, talking about what they'd seen in their own language. With the robots in the immediate area destroyed, Copter, Dimentime and Team Chaotix were ready to move on. The happy Wisps flew around them cheerfully, talking in their language. "Ummm... Yeah, you're welcome..." Vector muttered. "They sound like birds, too..." Copter mumbled, at which a spiky pink Wisp seemed to glare at him. "Err, no offense!!" he said. They hurried along to the next area, followed by an assortment of colorful Wisps, and soon they came to a chasm between two areas of the building, separated by a sea of strange, purple water. "Ummm... Fly us, Charmy?" Vector asked. "No way, Vector! You've put on weight since the last time I've carried you!" he said. "I have not!!" Vector protested. Espio glanced over the edge cautiously. "We need a way across..." he muttered. Suddenly, a cyan colored Wisp flew up to him, circling around him cheerfully! "H-hey!! What're you doing!? Cut it out!!" Espio gasped, only to have the alien fly into his body! Suddenly, he transformed into a beam of cyan colored light, and shot across the chasm as a laser! He reappeared on the other side, and the Wisp popped out of him! Copter, Dimentime and Vector's jaws dropped, while Charmy flew across the gap to join Espio. "Whoa! That was cool! Do it again!!" he said. "I... don't feel well..." Espio whispered. More Wisps were floating nearby the group, and Copter shrugged. "OK, you guys wanna help us? Well... What have we got to lose? Except our lunch..." he said. Vector nodded. "OK, who wants to help me?" he asked. A red Wisp flew over to him, and after entering his body, Vector turned into a soaring fireball! "Whoooooa!! How do ya drive this thiiiiing!!?" Vector could be heard shouting from inside. He soared around in seemingly random directions, forcing Copter and Dimentime to duck as he zoomed past them! However, he soon moved in the right direction and landed beside Espio and Charmy, spinning around dizzily as the red Wisp popped out of him. "Well... You next, Dimentime?" Copter asked. "No, thanks..." Dimentime said, waving his staff and teleporting across. "Cheater!" Copter shouted. Next, Copter pointed to a green Wisp. "All right, you! Show me somethin' awesome!" he grinned. The Wisp flew into his body, and he transformed into a green two tailed hovering balloon-creature of some sort! "Ohhh, COME ON!! I'm a BLIMP!?" he whined. The pink Wisp was nearby, and appeared to be snickering at him. Copter slowly flew across the gap, and plopped down with everyone else on the other side as the green Wisp flew out of him. "Well, thanks... I think..." he said. "At least YOU aren't gonna throw up..." Vector grumbled.
As they climbed higher up the towering structure in the next area of the park, they found some Flickies flocking around something on the ground. Copter was ready to walk right past them, but Vector stopped to check it out. "Those birds... They sure look interested in something there..." he muttered. The Flickies glanced at him with concern as he approached, hopping aside to let him pick up the object on the floor. It was a red bow tie! Seeing this, they all gathered around to ponder its meaning. "That's sure not Sonic's!" Charmy said. "I don't think it belongs to the same person who dropped the glove, either..." Espio reasoned. "Oh, goody. We get to actually see the detectives at work." Copter muttered. Vector looked thoughtful. "I'm suspectin' foul play of some kind here..." he said. "Now, whatever would give you that sort of idea?" said Orbot, who had been sneaking up behind them! They spun around and found him and Cubot both holding nets! Orbot hid his net behind his back to feebly hide his intentions. "This... um... is just an innocent amusement park! In which you are trespassing in an area under construction." he said. "I didn't buy that before and I don't buy it now! Where'd you stash the owner of this bow!" Vector snapped. "Naarrr, we got no one in the brig! We don't even got a brig, squire! The mates ye be lookin' fer are with a time travellin' old geezer!" Cubot said. Orbot looked at him unhappily. "You probably shouldn't have said that..." he grumbled. "What'd you say!?" Vector gasped. "Time travel...? Someone from outside!" Dimentime realized. Cubot scratched his head. "Outside where? Arrr, I don't get it..." he said. "You said too much! Let's get out of here before we get in even MORE trouble!" Orbot suggested. The two robots started to flee, but Copter and the others chased after them! "Stop! Where's that old geezer!?" Copter shouted. The pair of robots tried to shake them off their trail, but Copter, Dimentime and Team Chaotix chased them through the park and onto some rail transports the Egg Pawns were using to move around the tower! As Orbot and Cubot boarded one transport, the others hopped on the next one! "Wheeee! It's like a roller coaster!!" Charmy cheered. "Yep... My stomach agrees with you..." Copter groaned. When they got off at the other side, Orbot and Cubot stopped running at a group of people gathered in the center of the large exterior platform they'd arrived at. The "old geezer" Cubot had referred to, turned out to be none other than Gunner! He was accompanied by Spy and Guard, and they were holding Cream, her mother, Cheese and Tommy hostage! "Oh, of all possible geezers, it had to be HIM again..." Copter groaned. The PA system came on again as they approached Gunner. "Please remember, all planets in Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park are, as far as you know, wholly owned properties of Eggman Enterprises and its subsidiaries. All unauthorized photography, video reproduction, or shutting down of generators is strictly prohibited. Thank you." Eggman said. "Oh, yeah?? Well, we don't care if ya think the Time Eater is your property, too, Eggman!" Dimentime growled. "No copyright law's gonna stop me!!" Copter added. Gunner turned upon hearing them speak and sneered at them. "Finally decided to show yourselves? Good. I found some friends of yours skulking around, so I brought them here to wait for you..." he said. "Let 'em go, old man! This is kidnapping!" Vector shouted. Gunner cocked a pistol. "And in a moment... murder. But I have the perfect alibi. I'm on Earth during this time period! However, I'm a reasonable man... I could be persuaded to... let you take their place!" he growled. "Umm... Achoo!! Boss... this planet is making me nauseous..." Spy whined. "Shut up!" Gunner grumbled. "You're a sick old man..." Espio said. "Please... Don't worry about me, but help the children!" Cream's mother pleaded. Gunner smirked at her plea. "Yes... For the children..." he sneered. Orbot and Cubot came back from around the corner carrying a large capsule containing a purple creature with a large mouth and no eyes. "This be what you wanted, squire?" Cubot asked. Gunner nodded. "I think that'll do nicely." he said. "Say, um... What's with the gun?" Orbot wondered. "You're helping someone more psycho than Eggman." Copter said. "Are you sure that's possi... Errr... You don't say." Orbot muttered, possibly censoring his speech in case Eggman was watching over a camera. Gunner sighed. "You freaks are all very... uncooperative. So, we'll do this the hard way. The creature contained in this capsule is a Nega Wisp. It was created from normal aliens by Eggman to power his theme park... so I've been informed. When one of you freaks absorbs it... the results are said to be quite frightening! Fortunately for me, I have Guard..." he said. Guard nodded a couple times until it sunk in what that meant, and his eyes widened suddenly. "Grrr!? You... want ME to absorb the Nega Wisp? Grrrrr... I... don't know about this...." he said. Gunner scoffed. "I assure you, it's perfectly safe... for you." he said. Spy raised his hand nervously. "Um... What about us?" he whimpered. Cream and Tommy hid behind Cream's mother, whimpering nervously, as Orbot and Cubot placed the capsule on the ground and rotated the red top to open it, releasing the Nega Wisp!
The Nega Wisp flew around crazily, but ultimately seemed drawn to Guard's demonic form. It passed into his body, and he transformed into a horrific creature! The frenzied creature was basically a giant purple head with huge jaws, but it retained a pair of wings and a small, spade ended tail, based on Guard's features. It started snarling and jumping around in a rage, and Copter, Dimentime and Team Chaotix backed away nervously. "Wh-what do we do!?" Vector wondered. "Run like heck?" Copter whimpered. Suddenly, several more colored Wisps arrived on the scene, glaring at Gunner and the frenzied Guard! "What is this?! Oh, yeah, planet of the freaks. Guard, sic 'em!!" Gunner yelled. Copter glanced at Team Chaotix, and they nodded back at him. "Let's fight fire with fire, then!" Copter grinned. "Just... no Green Wisps..." Espio sighed. The Green Wisp's eye narrowed, as if questioning why, but didn't do anything beyond that. An Orange Wisp zoomed up to Dimentime excitedly, but he held up his hand to stop it. "I'll try my own magic, thanks..." he said, firing a powerful beam from his staff at Guard! The frenzied gargoyle simply seemed to devour the beam and grow larger! Dimentime gulped. "Well... That was unexpected..." he said. Vector decided to try out a cyan Wisp for himself this time. "Sure hope it doesn't eat this laser..." he muttered. He erupted into a cyan beam upon absorbing the Wisp, and zoomed into Guard, smacking him into the face hard! His beam bounced off and then started ricocheting all around, making Orbot and Cubot duck into their ball and cube modes as he whizzed past their heads! Vector emerged over the edge of the cliff, and almost fell, but managed to grab the side before it was too late! "Whooooa!! That was... crazy..." he yelped. Espio tried a yellow Wisp, and was turned into a drill, but found no place to drill into and crashed against the floor, causing the Wisp to promptly fly away in embarrassment. "...Ouch..." he muttered. Meanwhile, Charmy sneaked around the fight towards the captives Gunner was keeping. "C'mon, they're distracted! Let's get away from that cranky old GUN guy!" he said. "Not so fast!" Gunner growled, pointing his gun at him. "Charmy! Run!" Cream cried. Charmy chuckled. "Like that old guy can hit me!" he taunted. "D-don't mess around, dude..." Tommy whimpered. Spy appeared behind Charmy and quickly grabbed his wings! "Hey!! Lemme go!! No fair!" he shouted. "I got him, boss! What should I do with him?" he asked. "Hold him still and away from yourself..." Gunner sneered, pointing his gun. However, before he could fire, he was suddenly surrounded by the flock of Flickies! "Gah!! What the!? Get out of my face, you wretched birds!!" Gunner shouted. One of the Flickies flew at Spy's face, startling him into letting go of Charmy! "I'm a free bee again! Wheee!!" he cheered. However, Orbot and Cubot approached him with their nets next. "Yaaarrr!! Now ye gotta deal with us, matey!" Cubot growled. Charmy chuckled and buzzed around them in circles really fast, making them dizzy and occasionally kicking them! "Dumb bots! Bye bye!" he chuckled, flying off. Gunner then fired a shot in the air, scaring the Flickies into scattering. It also frightened Orbot and Cubot. "It's a bit chaotic out here, isn't it? Let's head back and see what the boss is up to!" Orbot said, rushing off so quickly that he bumped into Cubot! The impact caused Cubot's body to rotate a bit, and with a click, he suddenly said, "HEY! I'm walkin' 'ere!!" in an entirely new voice and accent. "Oooops... I seem to have jostled your voice chip... No time to worry about that now..." Orbot muttered as Cubot chased after him. "Hey! I'm talkin' ta you, chump! Come back 'ere!!" he shouted. In the meantime, the others were still battling the frenzied Guard. Copter saw the pink Wisp, which was looking a bit grouchy. "Umm... Hey... Wanna clobber that guy?" he asked. The Wisp glanced at him, and seemed agreeable to the idea. It flew into him, and Copter turned into a wheel of spikes, his own spiky tails becoming an additional layer of spinning pink spikes as well! They spun really fast and charged at Guard as he attempted to bite him! Meanwhile, Espio decided to try again with a blue Wisp. This time, however, he turned into a big, blue cube, which retained his curly tail! He crashed to the ground, causing it to shake and knock Gunner and Spy over! "This way!" Charmy shouted, leading Cream and the others to safety in the distraction. Copter's tail spikes smacked against Guard's jaws, knocking him out of his mouth, and Vector came blasting into him with the power of a red Wisp, knocking the frenzied gargoyle over! "I think I got the hang of this thing!" Vector chuckled as the red Wisp flew out of him. The Nega Wisp flew out of Guard at this point as well, reverting him to his normal form. He was looking very exhausted, too. "Grrrrrr... That was awful..." he grumbled. Gunner climbed to his feet and growled. "This isn't over, you freaks!!"
Indeed, it wasn't. As the Wisps finished separating from Copter and Team Chaotix, a huge portal appeared behind Gunner, and the Time Eater emerged from it! Eggman Nega emerged from behind the Time Eater in his Egg Mobile, operating some odd controls that were apparently controlling the Time Eater itself! "Way to go, GUN loser! But at least you kept them busy for a bit! Now for a little payback, foxes! Hee hee hee hee!" Nega laughed. The Time Eater opened a portal above it in a similar fashion to the way it did at Sonic's party, and suddenly started sucking people into it! Dimentime, having never encountered this phenomena before, was first to go! "Gyaaaa!! What's happeniiiiing!?" he yelled. Vector held on to Cream and her mother protectively. "I'm not lettin' that thing get you again!!" he grunted. Espio grabbed on to Tommy as well, standing his ground against the suction. However, Charmy was unable to resist the force! "Whaaaaa!! I don't wanna be taken agaiiiiin!!" he cried. Wisps were being pulled in as well, but the Flickies were nowhere to be seen at this point. Copter tried to hold on, and Guard stood his ground, too, even holding on to Spy, who was near him. Gunner, however, found himself being pulled in as well! "E-eggmaaaan!!!" he screamed as he was pulled into the portal. "Go on, fox boy... Get in!!" Nega growled, firing a shot in front of Copter! The shot startled him, and he, too, was sucked into the portal! Then, the Time Eater returned to the larger portal, while Eggman Nega flew his Egg Mobile into the smaller one behind everyone else, cackling manically. "It... It got the boss..." Spy murmured, "Does this mean I get vacation time?" Vector gazed up at the portals as they closed. "Charmy..." he murmured worriedly.
Copter, Dimentime and Charmy found themselves in what appeared to be the reception area of some sort of resort. Looking closely, Copter realized it was the Tropical Resort that the Sonics had visited from white space earlier. "Oh, well this isn't so bad. We can just walk right back outside, can't we?" Copter figured, "It's a place that Sonic already restored color to." Charmy flew around in circles dizzily. "Best ride ever! Let's go again!" he mumbled. Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath their feet, and the Wisps around them started flying all over the place in a panic! "Ummm... I think this may be a... less stable time?" Dimentime said nervously. "Hey, Tails?" They all glanced in the direction of Sonic's voice, seeing him and Tails standing in a circular plaza nearby. "How'd Sonic get here?" Charmy wondered. "Must be... The Sonic and Tails of this time period..." Dimentime realized. "I've got a bad feelin' about this." Sonic continued. "Good, so it's not just me." Tails replied. Sonic looked around. "When I feel the ground shaking under my feet and see plumes of dust rising and rubble tumbling and aliens running for their lives, yeah, I get a bad feeling." he said somewhat sarcastically, "So, how about you and me make like Eggman's hairline and recede?" he said, turning to Tails. Copter and Dimentime grimaced. "Ugh, Sonic, you dolt! Eggman never even had any hair as far as we can tell!" Copter grumbled, thinking about Robotnik. Tails also seemed less than amused. "Uh, this isn't joke time. This is running to the space elevator time!" he scolded. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. We're outta here!" Sonic replied. "Yeah! Running now!" Tails added, running off before Sonic in his nervousness. Copter nodded. "Thataway!! Follow those dufuses!" he shouted. "Ha ha! You're cloned from one of 'em aren't ya? You just called yourself a dufus!" Charmy teased. As they chased after Sonic and Tails, they heard an announcement from Eggman over the parks PA system, just like at Planet Wisp. "Critical system failure! Repeat! Critical system failure! All attraction access is temporarily suspended! Please evacuate the park via the emergency exit ahead! THIS...IS...ALL...YOUR...FAULT!!!" Eggman bellowed. "Nuh uh!! I wasn't even here!!" Charmy protested. Dimentime frowned grimly as they ran. "There may not be an exit back to white space... Eggman Nega may have trapped us here at this time deliberately! It's a trap to try to catch us in the destruction of the theme park! To get rid of us once and for all!" he realized.
They arrived at the exit to the amusement park, the shaft of a massive space elevator ominously named Terminal Velocity. Sonic and Tails had gotten there way ahead of them, and they found the elevator already gone, so they had to make a run for it down the shaft! "I sure hope we can find an exit back to white space somewhere..." Copter whimpered, "Can your magic get us outta this?" he asked Dimentime. "Umm... I'm... not actually sure. I'm not entirely sure if we're contained in white space or if we've been tossed out into real time. That would change the spell I'd need to use..." Dimentime said uncertainly. Charmy charged into Terminal Velocity ahead of them, speeding down along the long, white walkway that the elevator used as a track. "Wheee! Race ya to Earth!" he chuckled. "It must be nice to be a kid..." Copter muttered, following after him with Dimentime. As they ran, a trio of yellow robots resembling Egg Pawns with jetpacks flew ahead of them! They were Aero Chasers, and they quickly started charging lasers as they soared in front of Charmy and the foxes! "Shouldn't you robots be evacuating like Eggman said?" Copter stammered. They ignored him and started firing, one after another! The three of them scrambled back and forth to evade them while Dimentime tried to aim his staff at them. However, the robots soon crashed into a large beam hanging overhead! "Ha ha! Should've looked where you were going!" Charmy laughed. Copter chuckled in agreement, but was then smacked from behind by a speeding object! "Whoa! What the...?" He looked back to see a Motobug right on his tails, almost running over him! "Yaah!! Watch it, road hog! You guys sure got a tune up since I saw you last!" he shouted, scrambling to get out of the way as the Motobug tried to run him over! There were more where that came from, as well. Dozens of them were charging after them! "I had my fill of these guys the last time the Time Eater ate me!" Copter growled. As the Motobugs tried to ram them and bump them, Dimentime did his best to shoot them out. However, the bugs were the least of their worries! A giant robot flew their way, and it looked quite familiar. It had a black and red color scheme, and Egg Pawn shaped body, but was designed more like an Egg Flapper with arms, giant wings, and massive laser cannons mounted on its shoulders. Eggman Nega was piloting it! "Where do you think you're going? You haven't even tried any rides! And I salvaged the remains of my robot to create this Egg Timer Mark II especially for you! At least let it stamp your hands so you can get back in!!" Nega growled. "I know you worked really fast on this revenge scheme, but I HATE theme parks!!" Copter yelled. Suddenly, a gunshot whizzed past his head, and Copter glanced back to see Gunner riding on the back of a large, black Motobug! "Too bad, freak! This park will be the last thing you see!" he yelled. Charmy turned around and stuck out his tongue at him. "Meanie!!" he said.
They sped past Dr. Eggman's Egg Mobile as it crashed down from yet another defeat at the hands of Sonic. Sonic watched them speed by as well, scratching his head. "Hmm... That's... probably none of my business... Was that Gunner on a Motobug?" he mumbled. Purple energy was running wild from a damaged section of Eggman's theme park, and it was giving rise to a massive vortex that was sucking everything inside of it! One of Eggman's PA speakers flew by, being pulled into the vortex, but still managed to play one final message. "At Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park you can feel comfortable knowing your safety is our number one priority." said the pre-recorded message. "Oh, shut uuuuuuuuuuuuup!!!" shouted Eggman himself as his Egg Mobile got sucked towards the giant vortex that was rapidly consuming the Tropical Resort and the space elevator! They had no time to fight with Eggman Nega and Gunner, but they had to do something before they all got sucked into the vortex as well! The Egg Timer Mk. II fired massive beams at them, forcing them to back away closer to the ever expanding vortex! "Hee hee hee hee hee! This machine might be overkill... All I have to do is stall until you get swallowed up by my ancestor's little disaster!" Nega cackled. As they dodged Nega's lasers and Gunner's bullets, Charmy pointed around at something. "Look! The aliens followed us!" he said. Wisps were flying around overhead, scrambling in the same direction they were going. "Hey... Could they be the Wisps the Time Eater sucked up with us?" Copter wondered. "Maybe they'll help us!" Dimentime said, shooting bolts of magic at Eggman Nega's cockpit, which he blocked with the Egg Timer's hands. "Do you seriously think a feeble attack like that can scratch my Egg Timer Mark II? Don't insult me." he said. "No, just distracting you!" Dimentime smirked. Copter flew up, and a cyan Wisp came to him! "Ready? Fire!" he grinned. He became a cyan laser and shot down, bouncing from the ground to the Egg Timer's left hand and up to the cockpit! The hand exploded, but the cockpit seemed better shielded! "W-what!? How dare you! I'll barbeque you all!!" Nega shouted, firing several lasers at the group! Charmy flew up and tagged a yellow Wisp. "My turn! My turn!" he chuckled. He became a drill equipped with bee wings, and flew through the air, tackling the Egg Timer's other arm with the spinning drill! It snapped off, but that just made Nega angrier! He fired at the Wisps, causing them to scatter in a panic. "I'll cut my losses here. Enjoy the supernova!" Nega chuckled, pressing some switches in order to create a small time portal to escape through! "Hey! Wait! What about me, you treacherous worm!!" Gunner shouted. "Enjoy the supernova?" Dimentime scoffed. Suddenly, as the purple vortex was getting closer and closer, tearing up the space elevator as it went, a light flashed in front of them! Another time portal started to appear, this one directly in front of them. "No time to question it! Everybody through the portal!" Copter shouted. "Yes, siiiir!!" Charmy yelped, flying through it first. The Copters, time traveling Wisps, and even Gunner followed before the portal closed. As they emerged through the portal, they found themselves in white space again, and saw the Egg Time Mark II hovering over them! "Escaped, did you? Well, I'll fix tha-" Nega started to say. However, before he could attack, another giant laser blasted his robot from behind! His Egg Mobile tumbled out of the machine and collapsed on the ground a few feet away! Copter, Dimentime, Charmy and Gunner looked up to see Shadow Arcangel, with smoke coming from its weapons! "Everyone make it out OK?" said Bucky over a loudspeaker. Copter nodded slowly. "It took all the time energy my machine could harness to open that portal for you. It's a good thing Vector managed to contact me when he did. I'll have to get busy if my machine is going to be able to restore the entire world, that's for sure..." he announced before Shadow Arcangel started to fly away. Copter turned to see Gunner trying to sneak off. "Ahem..." he growled, prompting the Wisps to block his path angrily. Dimentime and Charmy ran up to Eggman Nega and pulled him out of his damaged Egg Mobile. "Hey, whaaaat!? Um... I'm sorry?" Nega whimpered. Gunner stomped over to him, escorted by Copter and the Wisps. "Sure you are! You're just like Ivo, you slime!" he growled. "Where's Katie." Copter growled. "...Who?" Eggman Nega mumbled. "She's still missing! Between us and Sonic, we've looked everywhere! Where is she!?" he growled. "Yeah, tell us what you know!" Charmy said, trying to act tough. Gunner scoffed. "How should we know? What are we, zookeepers?" he grumbled. Eggman Nega frowned. "At least I have manners. You might try that last door over there." he said, pointing to the door beyond Planet Wisp. "I'll bet you haven't been there yet." he figured. Dimentime nodded. "Thank you for your help... Now, stay!" he said, waving his staff and conjuring a large metal cage over the two of them! "H-hey!! Let us out of here, you freaks!!" Gunner shouted. "I've been wanting to do that all day..." Dimentime said as they walked away.
Along the way to the door, Charmy was reunited with Espio and Vector. "Guys!!" he cheered. "Charmy! I see callin' the doc paid off!" Vector grinned. "It was my idea." Espio said quietly. Copter smiled, noticing Cream's mother with the kids nearby, along with the Flickies. "I see everything worked out OK." he said. "Yup... Ummm..." Vector muttered, looking at all the Wisps floating around. "Yeah... Could you see them safely back home?" Dimentime asked. "Guess so..." Vector said. "Yay! Back to the theme park!!" Charmy giggled. Copter and Dimentime groaned. "Oh, brother... You'd think he'd be sick of it after all that..." Copter sighed. Having no real time to stick around, the foxes set out for the door to the next area as the Wisps waved farewell to them. Sonic, Classic Sonic, Tails and Classic Tails were already there, and were inserting the keys they'd gathered in order to open the door. "How convenient! We need to get in there!" Copter said. "Oh, hey, Copter. What took ya?" Sonic asked, "And how come you're the only ones following us around tryin' to help, anyway?" Copter scratched his head. "Geez, you're oblivious... Everyone's out working on it! ...I think..." he said. Sonic shrugged, unsure how to respond to that. As Tails turned the last of the keys, the large door turned open on its own! "We'd better be careful! There's no telling what's inside!" he said. Classic Tails nodded in agreement. "Right. The other doors had all the scariest traps behind them!" he recalled. Classic Sonic patted his chest confidently and hopped through the door first. "Oh, no ya don't! You're not leavin' me behind like the first time!" Modern Sonic said, speeding after him. Copter, Dimentime, Tails and Classic Tails all looked at each other and nodded, flying through the door together. Inside, they found a long corridor with glass windows along the sides and even sections of the floor, revealing lava below them. There was an exit hatch to their left containing an elevator, but the Sonics seemed to have missed it. "Not sure I've been here before, but the lava down there is giving me a familiar feeling..." Sonic said. Classic Sonic crept to the edge of the metal part of the floor and glanced through the glass at the lava curiously. While he was distracted, an icy blast suddenly flew through the corridor and struck him, freezing him solid! "S-sonic!!" Classic Tails yelped! The laughing of Dr. Eggman could be heard ahead, and he flew up in front of the group piloting a gigantic machine! It was the Egg Dragoon! "Welcome back to Eggmanland, Sonic! And say hello to my Ultra-Hyper Prototype 2!" he cackled. Modern Sonic glared at him. "Hello... And good bye!" he said, speeding down the corridor straight past Eggman, leaving him far behind! "H-hey!! Get back here, hedgehog!!" Eggman shouted, chasing after him with the Egg Dragoon. Tails sighed with relief. "Sonic led him away... Now we can try to get... Sonic... out of this ice!" he said. Classic Tails was already trying to punch his way through the block of ice Classic Sonic was stuck in. "Ow!! I wish I was Knuckles..." he sighed. "You two work on that..." Copter said, heading for the nearby elevator, "We've gotta find Katie!" he said. Dimentime tapped his staff. "Don't get carried away, Copter. We have other matters to worry about. This is the last place to look. It could be Eggman's base. We should look for Robotnik and try to end their schemes!" he suggested. Copter rolled his eyes. "Just get in the elevator!!" he said. "Trying to keep our priorities straight..." Dimentime muttered, joining him in the elevator. It led them to Eggmanland proper, and Copter and Dimentime groaned as they realized that they were once again in a theme park. "Something's wrong with Eggman..." Copter muttered. They hurried past twisted rides and dangerous roller coasters until they reached a building that more resembled one of Eggman's usual bases, complete with laser defenses, conveyor belt traps, and robots galore. The robots were variations of Egg Fighters, which were somewhat tougher than Egg Pawns, but Copter and Dimentime simply used magic and Chaos attacks to smash them from a distance and keep going. As they passed through a corridor filled with laser defenses, they soon heard a familiar voice. "Sooonic?? Sonic?! Where'd you go!? I'm over here, Sonic!" It was Chip! They ran ahead and found him circling near a conveyor belt. "Chip! What the heck are you doing here!?" Copter shouted. "Huh...? Oh, um... It's... y-you! Heh heh..." Chip said, their names escaping him. "It's Copter and Dimentime." Copter replied. "Uh, I knew that!" Chip smirked, "Good news! I got back my memory! Did I tell ya I lost it? My real name is Light Gaia, actually... You can keep calling me Chip, though!" he said. Dimentime stared blankly. "Light... Gaia??" he said. Chip nodded. "Yup! It's actually my responsibility to put the planet back together! But... I lost track of Sonic again! This crazy place is a maze! I need Sonic's help so I can find the last Chaos Emerald temple! Not to mention... he's actually carrying the Chaos Emerald anyway..." he explained. Copter scratched his head. "Umm... Not sure I understand, but maybe you better come with us. We'll look after ya!" he said. Chip flew over to them and cheered. "All right! Thanks guys! Hey! Want some chocolate!" he said, pulling a bar out of nowhere. Copter chuckled. "Well, finding your memory hasn't changed you, I see..." he murmured.
As they fought off some Egg Shooters in the next room, Chip stumbled into the wall while trying to avoid their shots. "Waaaaah!!" he yelped as he crashed into the pink section of the wall, seeming to put a dent into it! "Ouch... But I seem to have hurt the wall more than it hurt me!" he gasped. "Chaos Blast!" Copter shouted, smashing the last couple Egg Shooters near him with a chaotic explosion! Dimentime glanced at the pink wall now that the robots were gone. "I think you've stumbled across something..." he said, zapping it a few times with his magic to reduce the wall to rubble! On the other side, there was a small path leading to an automatic door! "Wow! Wouldn't a lock and key be easier?" Chip said. "Eggman's not logical..." Copter sighed. They walked through the door and found themselves inside what appeared to be a large, white laboratory! There were a couple of floating white chairs hovering beside computer terminals, scattered equipment here and there, and bits of stones and gems scattered about the rather large work area to the right of the entrance door! Chip looked around curiously. "Ooooh, this room's white like that place we saw in the desert!" he said. Dimentime glanced at the work area and saw a familiar chest beside it. "The treasure box... Those gems..." he mumbled. Copter pointed next to the computer terminal. "Look! Katie!!" he gasped. Katie the coyote was frozen beside the terminal! Copter and Chip hurried over to free her, and as her color returned, she hugged Copter and cried. "I was beginning to think I'd be trapped in this awful place forever!!" she sniffled. Copter patted her back somewhat awkwardly. "Aw... Don't be silly... SONIC would save you..." he said, rolling his eyes. "It's OK! Don't cry... Here, want some chocolate?" Chip asked, offering her one of his bars to try to cheer her up. She wiped her eyes and glanced at him. "Heh heh... Copter, did you bring a fairy along?" she giggled. Dimentime looked around grimly. "This is it! This is where Eggman's been working on his scheme! They brought the 'materials' from Sky Babylon here, and this lab's big enough for the Time Eater. He must have kept Katie's statue here to experiment on, since she... wouldn't be able to escape." he said. A clapping was heard from the far side of the room as he finished speaking. "Huh?? Who's there?!" Chip growled. "Brilliantly deduced, robed one." said Dr. Robotnik, who was hovering at the other side of the lab in his Egg Mobile! "All our glorious plans were indeed hatched from here! That would be why this place was hidden behind a locked door! You see, my future self used the Time Eater to set up shop in this time and place, and for easy access to the white world, we built the door you used to get here!" he explained. Copter nodded. "Uh huh... Locked it to keep us out. Well, we see how well that worked." he said. Robotnik crossed his arms and continued. "These doors are our own stroke of genius. The Time Eater can create the portals these doors originate from on its own. But with some tweaking, we can use the doors to amplify the Time Eater's ability to pull things from the past! We first experimented with my Death Egg and the Space Colony ARK where my grandfather once worked, but the ultimate test of our technology was to use a Chaos Emerald's power to charge up the Time Eater even further and summon that sea monster to battle with Sonic! However... It failed! Everything we tried to summon in order to deal with you just ended up defeated..." he sighed. Copter chuckled. "Well, duh! Sonic's beat all that stuff before!" he taunted. Katie tilted her head. "I am so lost..." she said. "So it's not just me..." Chip replied. Robotnik laughed. "It's of little consequence. All this time, we've had the real ultimate power right under our noses... The Time Eater itself! After you defeated the sea monster, we went to work getting it ready for our purposes... Though we needed a bit more 'materials.' To slow you all down, we all started taking turns springing traps on you... But you and Sonic have proven quite persistent!" he growled. Dimentime smirked. "And now here we are! Game's over, doctor!" he said. Robotnik wagged his finger at him. "No, no! I'm afraid you're too late! With just a few minor adjustments, the Time Eater will at last be ready! With its power, we will rewrite history, and make it ALL about... me! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!" he cackled, extending a claw from his Egg Mobile in order to grab Katie! "Eeeek!! Let me go, you fat maniac!!" she shouted. "Tsk. You'd figure with all your time with nothing to do but think, you'd have come up with something better than that!" Robotnik said, "Come and get me, foxes!" he shouted, fleeing through an automatic door at the other end of the lab! "Why that dirty!! Lemme at him!!" Chip growled, punching and kicking in midair. "After him!!" Copter yelled, running ahead. "It's a trap!! Be careful!!" Dimentime shouted, following him along with Chip.
They arrived at a round dead end room. Robotnik was nowhere to be seen, but above them was a long, dark shaft with metal arms and wires hanging from the shadows. "Uuuhh... Those metal things up there are creeping me out..." Chip whimpered. "He must have gone up there... And I get the feeling something was... 'hanging' out up there when he came in." Copter said nervously. Chip looked up carefully and then gasped. "L-look out, Copter!!" he shouted, pushing him aside and stumbling to the ground as a warhead crashed into the floor! It didn't explode right away, though, and as Copter, Dimentime, and Chip backed away from it, Dr. Robotnik soared down from the ceiling piloting a huge, dragon-like machine that was carrying Katie in its talons! "Help!! Someone get me down from heeeeeere!!" she screamed. Robotnik laughed. "I do enjoy my future self's designs... I have to hand it to me! A shame he never put this Egg Wyvern to use!" he said. "Put her down, Eggman!!" Copter shouted. Robotnik stroked his moustache. "You first!" he said, detonating the warhead and dropping Copter, Dimentime and Chip into a large hole in the floor that resulted! "Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!! Wait for meeeeee!!" Robotnik laughed, flying down into the pit after them! They were now plummeting down a long, seemingly endless shaft. They weren't sure how deep it was, but they could feel heat emanating from the bottom! Copter and Dimentime spun their tails to try to control their descent, evading falling rubble as they fell. Chip seemed to be falling uncontrollably, so Dimentime took it upon himself to fly after him. "I got ya, kid... Whoa!!" Before he could reach him, the Egg Wyvern shot some laser blasts between them! "Chaos Whirlwind!" Copter shouted, blowing some falling debris towards the Egg Wyvern in retaliation! The debris shook up the machine just enough to knock Katie from its talons! "Aaaaaaahh!! Nooooo!!!" she screamed, covering her eyes. "Oooops..." Copter yelped, flying after her as fast as he could! Dimentime grabbed Chip in his arms and ducked under the Egg Wyvern as it charged at them, trying to strike back after having recovered from Copter's attack! "You miserable foxes!" Robotnik growled, glancing down to see Copter catch Katie in his arms. "I gotcha!! S-sorry, Katie..." he sighed. Katie held on tight. "I so owe you... Just don't drop me!" she panted. The four of them found a falling platform below, possibly a lower layer of the ground they fell through that had been broken loose by the explosion, and landed on it for some semblance of stable footing as Robotnik swooped the Egg Wyvern down to greet them. "This chasm will be your tombs! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!" Robotnik cackled.
The Egg Wyvern raised its broad wings and fired a barrage of laser beams down at the platform! Dimentime created a magic shield to protect himself and Chip, while Copter, still carrying Katie, ran around the platform in a desperate effort to dodge them. "Argh!! K-katie... I'm gonna put you down now... Stay back!" he said. "You got a deal!" she replied, "But... how are we gonna get outta here?" she whimpered. Before anyone could answer her, Robotnik started shooting fireballs from weapons attached to the Egg Wyvern's head! "Whaaaaa!! Isn't it hot enough down here!?" Chip yelped, flying around frantically to evade them! Copter pushed Katie back and flew around in an attempt to dodge the flames, but the Egg Wyvern raised its tail and fired a missile at him from it! "What in the!?" Copter dropped back to the platform, but the missile followed him and smashed the platform to pieces, sending them plummeting down again! "Ha ha! Now I've got you! Here I come!" Robotnik laughed, charging the Egg Wyvern towards them! However, Dimentime used his magic to shine a bright light in the chasm, blinding him! "Arrrgh!! I can't see!! I'll crash!!" Robotnik yelled, stopping his attack to keep himself from crashing into the wall of the chasm! Luckily, there was another big piece of debris falling below them that they could use as a platform, but as they landed on it, Dimentime glanced up towards the surface with a worried expression. "We'll never all be able to escape this..." he said, "Copter, grab Katie! Keep her safe!" he shouted as the Egg Wyvern started to approach them again. "I'll be fine...ish. You two take care of Eggman!" Katie insisted. Copter stood close to Katie. "Do you have a plan?" he asked Dimentime. "Take her hand!" Dimentime ordered. Copter grabbed her hand tight, looking at Dimentime uncertainly. "You... do have a plan??" he asked. Robotnik laughed as he arrived. "I wonder how much further until we reach the bottom? Well, I guess I'd better hurry if I want to finish you before the lava!!" he taunted. Dimentime raised his staff. "Good luck, Copter!" he said, sending a spell their way! "Huh?! D-dimentime!! Wait!!" Copter shouted, but it was too late. He and Katie were instantly teleported to the surface! "Chip! Fly yourself out of here!!" Dimentime shouted. "Grrr!! Help them escape will you!? Take this!!" Robotnik shouted, firing several laser beams directly at Dimentime while his back was turned! "Look out!!" Chip shouted, tackling him out of the way! Dimentime turned around and grunted. "Run, Chip! It's too dangerous!" he said. "I can't leave you here!" Chip replied. "How touching... Hmm... I wonder if I can fire ALL the weapons at once?" Robotnik muttered. Chip growled and flew up to the Egg Wyvern's cockpit, punching and kicking at the windshield. "You leave my friends alone, you big mustached.... Hey, are you Eggman? You look like him, but you look different." he said, stopping his attack briefly to gawk at Robotnik up close for the first time. "No!! Chip!! I can't let you get hurt!!" Dimentime shouted. "Get out of my way, you little pest! I can't see!!" Robotnik shouted, firing off weapons at random while trying to shake Chip away from the cockpit! Dimentime ran for the edge of the platform he was on, evading lasers, missiles and flames as he approached the Egg Wyvern. "Leave... him... alone!!" Dimentime shouted. He quickly spun his staff around a few times, generating magical energy that formed a large ball in front of him! "Chip!! Get down, quick!!" he shouted. "Huh? Uh, oh! You made him maaaaad!" Chip teased, flying out of the way hastily. "Finally! I can see!! ...hm? What is THAT!?" Robotnik shouted. Dimentime swung his staff like a bat, hitting the ball of magic into the Egg Wyvern! It exploded on impact, knocking the wyvern into the chasm wall and causing rubble to crash down on top of it!! "Cuuuuurse yooooou!!!" Robotnik shouted as the Egg Wyvern started to fall apart, and even his Egg Mobile seemed to be having problems as it detached! "N-noo!! I gotta... get out of heeere!!" he stammered, pressing some buttons frantically. Dimentime watched and scratched his head. "Is he gonna make it...?" he muttered. Suddenly, a portal appeared in the wall of the chasm, and the Time Eater emerged! Robotnik cackled as the Time Eater picked up his Egg Mobile! "Enjoy your fall! I'm off to conquer time itself! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!" With that, the Time Eater carried him through the portal, and he escaped. Dimentime sighed. "I can't teleport us from here... Chip, you need to fly out..." he said. Chip looked at him with shock. "Go on... hurry up..." Dimentime said as the platform hurtled towards a fiery fate...
At the bottom of another, less fiery shaft, the Egg Dragoon crashed into a massive pile of scrap metal! Sonic landed gracefully next to it a few moments later, the Egg Dragoon's drill shaped weapon barely missing him as it plunged into the ground afterward! As Sonic relaxed after the battle, he heard Tails call his name. Looking up, he saw both Classic and Modern Tails flying down the shaft he'd come from. Classic Tails was carrying the newly thawed Classic Sonic as well. As they all landed near Modern Sonic, they heard Dr. Eggman groan. He had climbed out of the Egg Dragoon, and was sitting next to the rubble, looking highly frustrated. "I can't believe this! I was supposed to beat you this time!" he grumbled, banging his fists on the ground. "Aw, I'm sorry! I didn't get that memo. I beat you every time!" Sonic pointed out. He then glanced at Classic Sonic. "No, seriously, we beat this guy every time. It's like it's our job or something!" he joked, making Classic Sonic chuckle. Modern Tails looked curious. "What's Eggman even doing here? I thought you said he'd been kidnapped by that big weird thing that sent us all to this place!" he recalled. Classic Sonic nodded, recalling what had happened at the Death Egg. Suddenly, the whole room started to rumble as a portal opened above them! The Time Eater swooped down past the Sonics and Tails, grabbed Dr. Eggman, and escaped through the portal once more! Classic Tails pointed up at where the portal had been. "See? He WAS kidnapped. This is getting stranger all the time." he said as the others stood with puzzled expressions. Classic Sonic looked around, and suddenly spotted something sparkle amidst the Egg Dragoon's remains! He dashed over and pulled it out: the cyan Chaos Emerald! "Hey! You found the last emerald, Sonic!" Classic Tails smiled. "Ah... So, that's why he called that robot the... um... Something-or-other 2." Modern Sonic said, "The first one sure wasn't powered by a Chaos Emerald!" With all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand, they were ready to leave Eggmanland behind, so they started looking for a way out of the bottom of the shaft.
Back at the dead end room near the lab, Copter and Katie stared nervously down the hole in the floor. Chip soon started to emerge, but they saw no sign of Dimentime. "Chip!! Good to see you're okay! Where's Dimentime? What happened?" Copter asked. He was looking much less chipper than usual as he flew out of the hole. "Is... everything okay...?" Katie asked. Seeing his sad face, she walked over and gave him a hug. "It'll be all right little guy..." she said. Copter sighed and started to turn around. "Guess I'm... on my own..." he whispered. A faint noise could be heard from inside the chasm at this point. Copter grimaced, at first thinking it was the platform hitting bottom. However, the sound was slowly growing louder. It sounded like an engine of some kind! "What... is that!?" he grumbled, turning around. Chip jumped out of Katie's arms and rushed to the hole, followed by the rest of them. Something orange was fast approaching the top of the chasm! It looked like a small rocket, but its engines resembled Copter's own spiky tails! "Son of a gun... I think that's Dimentime!!" Copter gasped. "Whaaaa?!" Katie and Chip replied. "Look out!!" Copter shouted as the rocket neared the top! They jumped back, and as the rocket exploded out of the hole, it transformed back into Dimentime! He twirled his tails and landed back on solid ground, an Orange Wisp flying out of his body! "Whew... Thanks for tagging along with me anyway, pal!" Dimentime said, saluting the noble alien. The Wisp waved with its tentacle, winking with one of its two vertically positioned eyes. "Woooooow!! That is the most AMAZING thing I've ever seen!!" Chip gasped. Katie crossed her arms and growled at Dimentime. "Don't you do that to us again!! We were worried sick!" she shouted. Dimentime chuckled softly. "Um... Sorry... At least you're ALIVE!" he pointed out. "That looked like a close one. How do you feel?" Copter asked. Dimentime scratched his head. "Maybe it's the Wisp, but... My nose hair is tingling for some reason..." he mumbled. Suddenly, they heard a sound coming from somewhere deep in the base. It was a faint howling sound. "Hm?? That must be Sonic!" Chip gasped. Copter nodded. "Well... If he's a monster like Kosmo turned into at Shamar..." he said. Chip hurried towards the exit. "I better catch up to him!" he shouted, hesitating as he reached the exit. "Oh! Um... I might not see you again. Thank you so much for all your help, guys! I'll never forget any of you, even ages and ages from now! Gotta go!" he said, waving as he hurried away. "Bye, little guy..." Copter said, waving back, "...Did he say ages and ages??"
They had failed to stop Eggman and Robotnik, but they had found Katie, so Copter and Dimentime decided to get her out of Eggmanland safely before doing anything else. As they, the Sonics and the Tails all made their way out of the door leading between Eggmanland and white space, Mephiles was watching them from the shadows surrounding Despair Castle. "Celebrate your petty victories while you can..." he whispered to himself. "You really shouldn't talk to yourself, Mephy. People will think you're crazy." said Lospecter as he floated towards him. Mephiles glared at him. "You have yet to prove useful... Anything to report." he growled. Lospecter crossed his arms. "Touchy. Well, yes, matter of fact. The fat boys are ready to play their hand. There'll be a big-time showdown soon." he said. Mephiles nodded. "Then I, too, am ready... This world will finally be mine to do with as I please... Ha ha ha ha ha..."
To be continued...
