Chaos Hearts 2
Chapter 4 - The Eggpire Strikes Back
2BIT stepped through a corridor of darkness created by Violet the echidna. There wasn't time to wait for Tails to finish the portal device, so he followed a search spell sent through the portal by Gemini, leading him to an exit into another dark space. He found himself under what appeared to be a giant bed. "Hmm..." he hummed, looking around. "See anyone?" Violet's voice made 2BIT jump, "I had to come, didn't I? Or else how will you get back?" the echidna pointed out. "Shh... Let's be careful..." 2BIT said softly, leading the way as they stepped into a huge room...or were they just really small? They didn't get far before a strange group surrounded them. They appeared to be...toys. "Freeze! Where'd you two come from?" said a spaceman aiming an arm-mounted "laser." Violet reacted quickly. "Eggman's robots! Look out!" she shouted, knocking over a toy robot with a blast of dark energy! "Stop, stop! That's a Buzz Lightyear over there! Just toys!" 2BIT said quickly, tugging Violet's arm. "Huh? Toys?" she stammered. A cowboy doll helped the fallen robot back to its upright position. "Good thing Andy's at school. That'll give us time to hear your story. Howdy, I'm Woody." the cowboy said, shaking 2BIT's hand. "Hey hey, is that Tails? Are they Sonic plushies?" a piggy bank, Hamm, stated. "Sonic? I dressed as Sonic for Halloween once!" said a Mr. Potato Head next to him. "Tails? ...Uh, yeah, I'm a custom-painted Tails..." 2BIT babbled, "I'm looking for some friends...who may have turned up near here?" he stated. Buzz lowered his laser arm. "Hmm, you might mean those other strange plushies..." he stated. A Slinky-dog slunk over to the group. "The plushes? I think they're up playin' that Yozora game with Rex." he informed them. "Thanks, Slink!" Woody said, "Come with me, and try not to get upset they're playing Nintendo, Sega toys." Violet looked deeply confused. "Living toys?? They think we're plushies?" she babbled. "I'll explain it all to you later..." 2BIT whispered.
Cupie was mashing buttons on a large controller while a toy dinosaur, Rex, was moving the control stick. "Yes! Keep it up! I think we'll finally beat Bahamut!" Rex said with frantic excitement. Gator kicked a shoulder button. "This is hard! And the only thing to eat here are those doughy burgers!" he complained. Woody groaned, hearing this as he climbed onto the desk with the game console. "I've told you not to eat the Play Dough. Toys don't even need to eat..." he grumbled. "Yeah...th-that's them..." 2BIT huffed, worn out from climbing the massive furniture. Violet popped out of a corridor of darkness, but she wasn't much less worn out. "The creatures in the Dark World were tough to shake this time..." she panted. "Hey hey, 2BIT! Can't talk now. Fighting Bahamut!" Cupie said excitedly. "Ah! No! Look out!" Rex shouted at the screen. 2BIT crossed his arms. "Come on, it's time to go home, guys." he insisted. "I'm sure your kid misses you." Woody added, truly thinking his guests were toys. The TV suddenly cut off, causing Rex to shout "Noooo!!" Someone stood atop the TV, snickering. "You can't leave yet, guys. Playtime's just starting!" said 8BIT, likely the one who unplugged the TV. He raised a hand, and toylike Heartless appeared throughout the room! "What!? Those intruders again!?" Woody gasped. Violet tried hitting some of the Heartless with dark magic, but that was no more effective than when Fera had tried it. "Uhhh, what do we do?" she asked anxiously. Cupie jumped on Rex's back. "We play! Giddy up, Rexy!" he shouted. "No, no! I don't like playing with those guys!" the dinosaur panicked. 2BIT looked up at 8BIT. "Cut it out, 8BIT! We have no business messing with this world!" he said. "Ohhh, but I brought a brand new toy!" the black fox smirked. Buzz chased a Heartless under the bed, but he found a strangely familiar silhouette in the dark, instead. "Who goes there?" he asked. A villainous voice replied. "We meet again Buzz Lightyear...for the last time!!" Buzz backed up a step, surprised. "Emperor...Zurg??" he stammered.
The sound of an explosion was followed by Buzz being tossed out from under the bed! Emperor Zurg followed after him, a heartless emblem on his chest! "Well, that's not good..." 2BIT murmured. "No! ZURRRG!! He's back for revenge!!" Rex shouted in a panicky fashion. Glancing down, 2BIT and Violet saw Gator already approaching the possessed toy. "Excuse me, Mr. Emperor! Is it true you're really just evil Buzz?" he asked. "That movie...wasn't accurate." Buzz grunted, getting back to his feet. Zurg didn't seem interested in chatting. "Prepare yourselves! My darkness will shroud this world!!" he proclaimed, firing at Gator and tossing him across the room next. The toys were running for cover while Woody, Violet and 2BIT hurried back down. "Without a Keyblade, I'm not sure we can un-possess that toy..." 2BIT said. "Then I'll knock it out!" Violet shouted, hurling dark energy balls at Zurg to no effect. "Huh??" she yelped as he turned and aimed his gun at her. "You can't destroy darkness with darkness! Ha ha ha ha!!" he cackled. "Get down!" Woody jumped at Violet to knock her out of the way as the laser blasted in their direction! Buzz, meanwhile, was trying to sneak behind Zurg. "Ooooh, sneaky sneaky! Wait! I could create a diversion!" said an excited Cupie flying around near him. "What are you DOING??" he shouted as Zurg spun to face them. "A worthless effort from a worthless hero! Now I'll send you...where was it? To the BEYOND!" Zurg declared, firing at Buzz! Gator intercepted the shot, however, sent flying again. "Noooo I wanted to ask about the TV shooooow!!" he cried. Cupie then started flying around Zurg, annoying him as he tried to shoot him, but he was too fast. "Stay still, you alien vermin!" he shouted. The distraction allowed Violet to approach. "Okay, you like darkness?! Have some more!" she said, opening a corridor of darkness behind Zurg. Rex then came charging at him with Woody riding on his back, and headbutted Zurg into the portal! "Curse you, friends of Lightyeaaaaar!!" the villain shouted as the portal closed, trapping him in the dark realm! "...Well, he's gone. But will that toy be okay?" Woody asked. "I did it again! I defeated Zurg!!" Rex cheered, jumping for joy while Woody tried to calm him. 8BIT scoffed and vanished into a portal of his own while 2BIT joined his friends. "That Zurg's a lost toy now, but I'll try to get him home...after I get home myself." he stated. "That's good...but we still have a lot of questions for you..." Buzz said as he and Woody approached the group. However, a different kind of portal opened up behind 2BIT's group, and Cupie was quickly sucked into it! "Hey! Blocky's working!" 2BIT shouted, "He's drawing us back to Tails' Workshop!" Violet was sucked into the portal next, but Gator held on to Rex. "We have to beat Bahamuuuut!!" he shouted, but lost his grip and went into the portal. 2BIT was next. "Can't chat guys. Gotta go...to infinity and beyond!!" he cried, leaping into the portal, which shut behind him. The toys looked at the spot where the portal had been, bewildered. "...You know what all this reminds me of?" Woody asked Buzz. The space ranger nodded. "I'm sure Sora's doing fine...wherever he is." he said thoughtfully.
Elsewhere in the Galaxy...
The Maverick brought Copter's group to the Eggpire, the first world Copter had visited inside the Paradox Prism. From the sky, they could see that the city was on fire. "Looks like tensions blew up since I was last here..." Copter stated. "Who'd burn down the city like this?" 1BIT questioned. He was startled as Sage's face appeared in the window. "Be warned. If you land here, it will be taken as an act of aggression against the Eggpire." she said before disappearing. "Gah, HER again..." Copter groaned. "Time for some aggression, it would appear." Fera sighed. "I'll try to land us away from the fires..." Travis said from the pilot seat, "Hang on!"
After leaving the ship behind, it wasn't long before Copter, 1BIT and Fera were approached by Razor, albeit a cautious approach. "Made it back, huh, Copter? I hope Tommy isn't with you this time..." he said, glancing around. He was wearing an odd black getup, like a homemade military uniform. "Tommy's good. He's back home... Misses you. Our you, that is." Copter explained. 1BIT smiled. "Hey! My name is..."
"Get down!!" Razor shouted, interrupting the white fox as missiles whizzed past their heads! "The Eggpire was probably drawn here by your ship!" he cried. The Maverick rose up, flying into the world's orbit to avoid trouble as missiles tried to chase it. "They said they'd treat us as hostile..." Fera murmured. Razor looked at her awkwardly. "You brought Felicia from your world? What's with the bangs?" he questioned, "Never mind! Come on, I'll bring ya to Resistance HQ." he said, motioning for them to follow. "Do I have to fight Infinite again?" the wolf groaned.
Resistance HQ was hidden in secret basement under the city's clock tower. Razor had to put a secret code into the elevator to get there. The group arrived in a war room bustling with activity. Sonic had come fully out of his hero retirement, and his motivation was in a cage in the corner: the roboticized Tails. "You guys have been busy..." Copter said as he looked around. "Oh, no, we're goin' to war? Can't we just get along?" 1BIT whimpered. "What's the situation?" Razor asked, approaching the war map, "Hey! Guys! Hellooo!?" the porcupine continued, but the people in the room were too busy to acknowledge him. "Just as organized as I imagined our Resistance probably was..." Copter chuckled. "Good to see you back, my boy!" said Bucky as he approached the group, "Hold these boxes for me!" the rat added, dumping several heavy boxes into Copter's arms. "H-hey! What's the big idea!?" he complained. Fera stepped to the cage, looking the robot fox in the eyes. Something seemed off to her. The robot was very focused...too focused. "Are you transmitting?" she questioned. To her surprise, Sage's voice came from Tails. "You've got a tactical mind, don't you? But you are too late... We are locked on your location!" she informed her. Fera reached into the cage and lifted up the robot, tossing it into the wall forcefully! "Hey!! What's your problem, Felicia!?" Sonic shouted. "We've been compromised already!" Fera growled, turning to the war map. She sent a bolt of dark lightning into the ceiling to get everyone's attention. "The enemy knows where we are! Listen up! We need to organize quickly! Let's get this underway! Prepare for evacuation, while I get a force together to counterattack!" she commanded with authority. "Wow, she knows what she's doing!" 1BIT said, yelping as Copter dumped the boxes into his arms. "Way to put that Despair experience to use! ...Wait, this means..." he gulped. "Yes, looks like you report to me again, Copter. Get ready, because we're going to the front lines!" she told him. Sonic looked at the robot Tails apologetically. "Seems I messed up bringing you here... But hold on, I'll get you back no matter what, bro." he promised.
Meanwhile, the Egg Carrier was changing course, heading for Resistance HQ. Deep inside the warship, in the prison cells, Dr. Eggman was...locked up? "This is outrageous! You can't do this to me!! I rule this Eggpire!!" he shouted, pulling at the prison bars in vain. Sage appeared in front of his cell. "Be silent. You would simply be in the way if we let you out." she told him. "I should have known not to trust you, Sage, you traitor!!" Eggman shouted. "How can she betray YOU... When she's MY creation?" came an identical voice. This was Eggman, but not the Eggman from this world. Rather, this was the Eggman who formed BOMB and was responsible for the Paradox Prism shattering...partly. He stepped to the cell, accompanied by some Eggpire robots. They were Egg Fighters, but they were covered in a dark aura and had the Heartless Emblem on their metal chests. "What have you done with my robots, you copycat thief?!" Eggpire Eggman demanded to know. BOMB Eggman chuckled. "I improved them. They are now part Heartless, and that will guide them to find this world's Keyhole for me... Not that an inferior Eggman would know anything about that sort of thing! But once I've found the Paradox Shard as well as the Keyhole, I promise you can go free..." he said with a dark snicker. Sage glanced at the imprisoned doctor. "...You may require a new residence at that point, however." she stated, and turned to her creator. "Our forces are prepared to storm the Resistance HQ." she reported. "Good, let's take care of this world's Sonic quickly! Ho ho ho ho!!" BOMB Eggman cackled.
The Resistance was now on the move, and at Fera's suggestion, 1BIT was assisting in the evacuation of their headquarters, travelling through a secret tunnel with the less battle-ready members of the group. Specifically, 1BIT was guiding the robotic Tails along, using a remote provided by this world's tech-savvy version of Zipp the hornet. "That's it. Follow, follow. Don't attack me..." 1BIT squeaked while a wimpy version of Lucky walked beside him. "So, in your world, I have a key...blade?" he asked. "Yeah, and you helped save the universe...twice, I think." 1BIT said, "But that was kinda before my time in this universe..." They passed by a rather stern-looking Amy Rose. "No time for chatter! Move, move, move!" she shouted. "Hm, she seems as grouchy as ever..." 1BIT said, earning a hammer thrown at his back. "MOVE IT, twerp!!" she shouted. "Nope, this version's meaner!" 1BIT whined.
Fera was getting a bead on the situation outside, standing atop the clock tower and observing the approach of the Egg Carrier. "Hm... We've been in worse scrapes." she stated. A dark corridor appeared close by, and Fera glanced to see the Doubtweaver emerge. "You again. Here to give us another ill-timed test?" she growled. "You're tested every moment, my girl. Or do you think your little adventure with Tails absolved you of your sins?" the Doubtweaver questioned, "I wonder if the families you hurt as an agent of Despair have forgiven you..." Fera turned her attention back to the Egg Carrier. "I don't ask for forgiveness." she grunted. "Are you afraid to? Perhaps you don't believe redemption is really possible..." the hooded one snickered, heading back to the corridor, "Careful not to get too attached... You'll never know what's in your 'friends' hearts." he said before leaving. Fera grit her teeth. "Now's not the time to let him distract me..." she told herself, though it might be hard to keep intrusive thoughts out of her mind...
Down below, Copter was taking the fight directly to the Heartless Egg Fighters! Sonic was on the front lines with him, along with Bucky and the gun-toting Vortex. However, if an Egg Fighter was broken by anything other than a Keyblade, the darkness of the Heartless would quickly repair the robot and send it on the attack again. This frustrated Vortex as he unloaded shot after shot into an Egg Fighter. "This won't be any fun if they don't STAY DOWN!" the chameleon shouted. Sonic went ricocheting off several Fighters in quick succession, slowing down their approach by forcing them to repair themselves. "Yo, rat! Shouldn't you be workin' on the de-roboticizer?!" he shouted as Bucky was busy jolting some Buzzbombers out of the sky. "I can't exactly work scientific miracles under these conditions!" he yelled. Copter was busy striking down Egg Fighters before they could fully repair themselves, cleansing the darkness from the machines with his Keyblade. Sage was following after him, haunting him. "Go away, ghost lady! I ain't here to talk to you!" he warned. "Why fight us? We both want to break the barrier around your world, do we not? To succeed, these worlds must be returned to the Paradox Prism, which must also be reassembled." she said, "The easiest way is to allow the Heartless to consume the world's heart through the Keyhole. From there, we can return what remains to the Prism with less difficulty." Copter tried to hit her with his Keyblade, but she hovered out of reach. "There's got to be a way to get home without hurting anyone else! And if anyone's gonna fix the Prism, it'll be us! Stay out of the way!" he shouted. Sage watched him charge forward, shaking her head. "You leave me little choice..." she sighed.
Sage reemerged in the underground tunnel near 1BIT. "There's no escape..." she said, summoning dozens of soldier Heartless into the tunnel before vanishing again! 1BIT gasped with alarm and hastily raised his shield as the soldiers leapt at him! The impacts caused him to drop the remote, which broke against the floor. As a result, Tails shoved 1BIT into Lucky and raced back the way they came! "Oh, no! We gotta catch him!" 1BIT stammered, only to hear Lucky shout in panic as soldiers surrounded him! 1BIT hurried to block their attacks with his shield. "No good! You gotta run, Lucky! I'll hold 'em off!" he said. Amy's hammer smacked some soldiers around as well. "Keep moving! The exit's up ahead! Go, go!" she ordered. 1BIT frowned, smacking some soldiers away using his shield. "They ain't gonna be happy I lost Tails..." he whimpered.
Fera used her own corridor of darkness to get some Resistance troops onto the Egg Carrier. Since they were already dealing with the Heartless, a few slipping in from the Dark Realm didn't seem like a big deal. Razor accompanied her aboard the ship. "If we can capture Eggman, we win!" he said. Before they could get far, Alpha flew past the intruders. He was carrying a red gem shard...the piece of the Paradox Prism! "Wait, Alpha! Uh... I'll take that from here!" Fera said, counting on the robot's usual foolishness. However, Alpha turned and fired at her, and nearly hit if not for Razor shoving Fera out of the way. "I thought you were smarter than that!" the porcupine chided her. "The doctor is waiting. I must deliver the shard." Alpha stated, continuing on his way. "So...he functions in this world..." Fera scoffed, "I wonder if Mitch gave up smoking here... Come on!" She and Razor began to give chase, but Heartless Egg Fighters got in their way! Fera created a new dark corridor in front of Razor, and he emerged to find Alpha racing toward him! "Gotcha!" he said, shooting the robot in the head! Alpha dropped the shard and gave a crazed shout, his robot eyes sparking as he looked at Razor. "...Can I have more ice cream, teacher?" Alpha asked. Razor shakily aimed his gun, unsure what the robot was plotting, but Fera came out of the dark corridor, picking up the shard and tugging Razor back in with her. "Leave him. I have a better idea..." she said.
Through battling with the Egg Fighter Heartless, Copter was soon led to discover the world's Keyhole. It glimmered on the front of the City Hall building, and Copter knew he had to close it quickly. With Sonic's help, he cleared out the Heartless in the area and got ready, aiming the Keyblade at the Keyhole. Sage appeared in the way, however. "It appears you are more powerful than you were before. We are forced to use this..." A blue blur zoomed in front of Copter and smacked aside his Keyblade. "What the hell, Sonic...huh??" Copter gasped. It was a version of Metal Sonic in front of him, with a Heartless emblem on his forehead! Sonic spin-dashed into the robot, creating some space between him and Copter. "Seal the Keyhole! I got this!" Sonic shouted. "He's a Heartless! You can't beat him without the Keyblade!" Copter pointed out. Dark lightning erupted from Metal Sonic's body, throwing Sonic backwards! "Yeow... That hit different than it used to..." the hedgehog groaned. Copter charged in, trying to hit Metal Sonic, but the robot was too fast for him, jumping and dodging his strikes easily! As Sonic stood up, he saw the robot Tails approaching Copter from behind. "Look out!" he shouted, running toward his robot friend. Copter turned to Tails, freeing up Metal Sonic to charge at the approaching Sonic! His robotic body sparked with dark lightning, but before he could hit Sonic, Tails rocketed into his path! The metal fox was struck hard, caught in the arms of a surprised Sonic. "You protected me!" he exclaimed. The robot Tails sparked a bit. "S-So-nic..." his robotic voice spoke before he fell limp. "No! Tails, talk to me!" Sonic cried as Metal Sonic started charging dark energy, preparing for a mighty attack. However, he'd taken his focus off Copter, and the black fox slashed Metal Sonic hard from behind, knocking his metal head off while banishing the darkness from the machine! Sage gave a frustrated sigh, and then gasped in alarm as an explosion sounded out! The Egg Carrier was losing altitude fast! "The wolf! ...Doctor!" Sage gasped, vanishing from sight.
Once things began to quiet down, Copter found his opportunity to seal the Keyhole, light erupting from his Keyblade to lock out the darkness. Fera and Razor approached, with Fera holding the Prism shard, and 1BIT arrived as well, rushing over to Sonic when he saw him holding Tails. "Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry! He got hurt 'cuz I let him get away!" the white fox said ashamedly. "Our mission has been an overall victory, though." Fera said, holding up the shard for them to see. "Yup, and I got the Keyhole. How'd you knock out the Egg Carrier?" Copter asked. "I shot up some sensitive equipment... Your Felicia knows how to mess with an enemy army." Razor stated. "I mean...so do I." Copter snickered, taking a look at the damaged Tails robot. "He's fixable. Try AcornCorp, if you have it here." he suggested, "They were a big help de-robotizing people in my world." Sonic held onto Tails tightly. "Thanks. I promise, I'll save him..." he said. A new voice surprised the group. "There's no saving you three anymore..." The Doubtweaver appeared nearby, and Fera held the prism shard protectively while Copter and 1BIT raised their weapons toward him. "What's your deal?" Copter growled. The Doubtweaver folded his arms. "I told Fera, these worlds needed to be returned to the Prism Shards, and the Paradox Prism restored, or that barrier's staying around your world. And she let you seal the keyhole anyway. Now you can't return the world to its shard." he explained. "As if I believe anything from a stranger who hides his face!" Fera scoffed. The Doubtweaver hesitated, then removed his hood. "That's no way... to talk to your father!" he said, smirking as Fera's eye widened with surprise. Then, he vanished into a dark corridor. "Family draaaamaaaa..." 1BIT said awkwardly. "Fera?" Copter looked at her with concern. Fera's eye narrowed. "Let's get back to the ship... We have a mission." she grunted.
Eggman floated over the wreck of the Egg Carrier in his Egg Mobile. "I wonder if the other me got out. I know I'd have found a way." he mused. Sage and Alpha both hovered near him. "Are you my auntie?" Alpha asked Eggman. The doctor sighed. "Great, a new friend for Orbot and Cubot... Listen, Sage! I want you to monitor those pests with the key...and my shard. We'll need that shard back sooner or later!" he commanded. Sage nodded. "They won't be aware of my presence until we are ready." she stated, "I will inform you of all their activities, father." she added before vanishing. Eggman glanced at Alpha. "...Father?" the robot murmured. "Let's see if I can't improve upon you back at my Eggquarters..." the scientist sighed. The battle might have been over for now, but the war was only starting...
To be continued...
