It’s only been two days since I awoke from my coma, yet it seems like things haven’t slowed down as much as everyone claims. I guess when it comes to me, time flies when you are having fun. Although, today wasn’t as much fun as I would want it. The one problem that comes with being President of the Dimensional Protection Unit is the same problem most leaders come across every single day: PAPERWORK….
“Boring!”, I exclaimed, slumped over on my office desk as Jesus and Leonidas continued to pile more and more paperwork around my desk. “Seriously, guys?! Was ANYTHING done while I was asleep?”, I asked. Jesus looked at me and said, “Not at all. Sonic’s depression got the better of him when he was acting President, so everything kind of piled up on us in a short period of time. Most of this stuff is pretty old, but the majority of it came in today when a lot of the universes found out that you were back.” I groaned as I took in the mountains of paperwork. I looked over at Leo and winked at him as I pressed a button on my desk, a chute appeared at my feet as I dropped through the floor. Jesus continued to talk as Leo said, “Forget it, Jesus. He’s long gone.” “What?!”, the young advisor said, using his magic to move apart the piles of paper to see that I was no longer sitting in my chair.
“Damn it, when did he install that chute?! Allen, get back here!”, Jesus shouted down the chute. I chuckled as I exited from the exercise room. I looked around and left for the lab, smiling as I saw Tails and Sonic conversing with each other. “Hey guys!”, I said, walking up to them. “What do you mean we have to go back? We’re wanted criminals back home!”, Sonic said. “I know that, bro! But, since Allen is back in action, we got to go and clear our names with the royal family! Otherwise, who knows what may happen if Allen is ever needed there?”, Tails replied. I frowned and bonked the two on their heads and said, “Hello? I find it very rude to speak about me when I am still in the room.”
“Oh! Sorry, Allen. Some things came up in New Mobotropolis, so me and Sonic were gonna go and sort them out.”, Tails said. I was just about to say something, but then I heard Jesus yell my name loudly. “Uh-oh!”, I said, panicking slightly. “Did you ditch him in mid-conversation again?”, Sonic said. “Uh, maybe? Herbie, time to go!”, I exclaimed, hearing the Volkswagen honk it’s horn as it drove near us, opening the doors for us to hop in. I immediately crawled into the driver’s seat as Sonic and Tails closed the door behind me, Herbie rocketing out of the garage quickly. “Alright, to New Mobotropolis, old friend! GANGWAY!”, I exclaimed as we shattered through the Dimensional Rift, leaving Jesus behind in our dust. He shook his head as he said, “What am I going to do with that kid?”
I laughed as Herbie drove faster and faster down the Rift. Sonic looked at me with a wide grin as the three of us listened to the different music stations Herbie picked up. “Take it easy, Herb. I know you’re happy to get out of the garage after all that time, but it’s no reason to try and outdo yourself.”, I said, patting the dashboard gently. I looked back at Tails and asked, “So, why do we need to head to Mobius anyway, bro? Is it Eggman trouble again?” Tails looked down and said, “It’s more like royalty trouble, Allen. Obama’s notification that the DPU weren’t no longer branded as terrorists haven’t reached the ears of King Acorn yet. We figure that our messages are being stopped by an outside force.” I frowned when Tails said that. “That’s not a good sign. I wonder what the problem could be?”, I asked softly. “We’re about to find out. Our exit is coming up.”, Sonic said, seeing mounds of Power Rings surrounding the walls of the Rift.
My eyes widened as the Rift opened up, shifting to a maze of roads and stars. “Welcome to the Special Zone, Allen. This is your first time getting to Mobius the long way, eh?”, Sonic said, reaching out of Herbie’s window, picking up one of the Power Rings on one of the piles they passed. “Heh, you got a point there. The first time I went to Mobius was in the Dimensional Transporter Tails had made. The second time…it was such a blur. I don’t even remember seeing any of this when I went after Rai and Daisy. At least one question that has plagued my mind has finally been answered.”, I stated.
“And what would that be?”, Sonic asked. “Where the HECK you put all those Power Rings after collecting so many!”, I said with a laugh. Sonic and Tails laughed as Herbie honked loudly, catching my attention as the insignia of a Chaos Emerald came into view. “Here we go! Shatter!”, I exclaimed, seeing Herbie shatter through the Rift onto a dirt road.
Meanwhile, a few miles away from our location…
“He’s here. I can smell it: the blood of the Living Paradox.”, a female said. A loud laugh was heard as a cloud of black smoke formed beside her. “Well then, things have certainly decided to get interesting, eh Daisy? We better get moving before HE realizes that the kid’s here.”, the cloud said, reshaping into the form of a black and red hedgehog. “Indeed. Let’s be on our way.”, Daisy replied, disappearing from the area in a bolt of lightning. Rai smirked as he disappeared as well, both of them making haste to our location.
Meanwhile, back with us....
“Ah, good old Planet Mobius! It’s been way too long since we were here. Look, I can see Green Hill Zone from here, guys!”, I said, looking around out the window. Sonic chuckled as he said, “You’re right, Allen. Nothing beats home. But…something feels wrong here.” “You mean like THOSE?! Look out!”, Tails said, pointing at a battalion of robots heading straight for us. “Swatbots?! Herbie, full reverse!”, I said, feeling Herbie drive in reverse away from the robots. Then something even more peculiar came into view: a gigantic sign with Eggman’s face appeared from behind us. “Welcome to Eggmanland? WHAT?!”, Sonic exclaimed, looking back at the direction we came. “But that’s supposed to be New Mobotropolis! Does that mean Eggman got to the Royal Family?!”, Tails exclaimed. “Let’s hope not, little bro. Allen, can you detect Sally from here?”, Sonic asked.
“I’m still a bit rusty with that, but I’ll try!”, I said, closing my eyes to feel all the power levels surrounding me. It only took me a few minutes to detect a familiar level that belonged to Sally Acorn. “There she is!”, I said, turning Herbie around the right way, heading towards Freedom HQ. Faster and faster we drove, seeing the Freedom Fighter base come into view. Finally, we came to a stop at the front door. We all clambered out of Herbie as I told him to return to Amaria. He honked in agreement and left us behind. Immediately, Tails said the one thing that was on all our minds: “It’s too quiet. Freedom HQ is never this quiet.” “Yeah, you’re right. I remember when I was staying here all those years ago. You could hear people from the inside from a few yards away. What’s going on here?”, I asked out loud.
“Allen, are you sure Sally is in there? Are you absolutely sure?”, Sonic asked. I closed my eyes and searched for Sally’s energy again on the inside of the base. I nodded my head and said, “Yes, she’s in there. But, there’s something wrong: she’s the ONLY one in there.” “What?!”, Sonic exclaimed, running inside immediately. Both Tails and I followed behind, not noticing a Swatbot was standing nearby. “The Aelitatrix Bearer has arrived to Freedom HQ, Doctor. Should I set off the trap now?”, the robot said. “Not yet! We must let them…see the bait first.”, Dr. Eggman stated. “Yes, sir.”, the Swatbot replied. Meanwhile, on the inside of the building, the three of us was welcomed with a shock: the entire place was ransacked. The floor was littered with ripped books, clothes, patches of fur, and pools of blood. I was in horror from everything that was seen. “What happened here?”, I said softly, picking up a ripped teddy bear off the ground.
“It must’ve been Eggman and his robot army.”, Sonic said, holding a broken radio in his hand. “How could he do something this cruel?”, Tails said, looking around in shock. I frowned when I heard Yami say, ‘Allen, do you smell that?’ “Hmm? Smell what, Yami?”, I said, sniffing the air slightly. My eyes widened when I said, “Sally!” “Where?!”, Sonic said, looking around. “Over here!”, I said, running over to one room. When I saw the door to it, I immediately gasped. “It’s…it’s my room.”, I said, running a hand over my name on the door as well as the Sacred Seal underneath it. I pushed it slightly, hearing it creak softly to be welcomed with a small dust cloud. Sonic gasped as he saw Sally asleep on my old bed, badly injured. “Sal! Allen, could you…?”, Sonic started to say before I walked over to Sally to look her over.
“The injuries are fresh. This just happened not too long ago!”, I exclaimed. “What?!”, Sonic & Tails exclaimed, looking at everything in horror. I closed my eyes and clapped my hands loudly, my hands turning a pale green. “Curaga!”, I stated, healing Sally of her injuries immediately. Sally coughed loudly as she sat up and groaned. Sonic hugged her gently and said, “Easy, Sal, easy. It’s ok, you’re alright.” “Sonic? Is that you? Is it really you?”, Sally asked, looking up at his face. “Yeah, it’s me.”, Sonic said softly. He looked behind him and said, “It worked, Allen. Guess you’re not as rusty as you think.” I chuckled slightly and said, “That was nothing. Just wait until I finally get a full stomach!” Sally’s eyes widened when she saw me and said, “Mr. Henegan?! Oh no! You guys got to get out of here!”
“Sally, what’s wrong?”, Tails said, getting a worried look on his face. “The entire Freedom HQ is laced with bombs! It’s a trap!”, Sally said. “What!?”, I exclaimed, hearing a loud familiar laugh. “That’s right! And it’s all JUST FOR YOU, Henegan!”, Dr. Eggman’s voice said. “Eggman?! You did this just to get at me?!”, I exclaimed. “Rather ingenious, huh? I knew that if the messages you sent to King Acorn never reached him, the dogs of the Celestial Guard would come right back to their original stomping ground to find out what happened!”, Eggman sneered. “What did you do to Maximillion, Eggman?!”, I exclaimed, getting more and more furious. “He’s enslaved everyone in New Mobotropolis and has captured all the members of the Freedom Fighters! I’m all that’s left!”, Sally stated.
“And that’s one too many! Farewell, Princess. Farewell, hedgehog! Farewell, Mr. President!”, Eggman stated, his voice being cut off by a bunch of beeping noises. My eyes widened when I said, “Let’s get out of here!” Sonic and Tails nodded as Sonic lifted Sally into his arms, the four of us barely escaping as the base went up with a loud bang. I panted heavily as I saw that we were surrounded by Swatbots and Buzzbombers. I grinned and said, “He expected us to escape. Well guys, ready to break out of this?” “Ready!”, Tails and Sonic stated. “Sonic, put me down. I’m going to fight too.”, Sally said. “But Sally!”, I said, only to see a rather long energy blade pointing right at my nose coming from one of the blue bracelets she was wearing. She grinned and said, “Eight years is a long time, Allen. And not even a single letter to say hi to your Auntie Sally? I’m going to fight. I’m not the same girl you met all those years ago.”
I looked at the blade and a confident grin appeared on my face. “Put her down, Sonic. Let her fight.”, I said, turning from her as I turned the dial on Trixie. “You’ve changed, Sally. Everything here has changed. What did I miss while I was asleep?”, I asked. Sally stood to her feet as another blade appeared from the other bracelet. “Now’s not the time to ask. First, let’s get away!”, she said, slashing a few Swatbots to ribbons. I laughed as Sonic and Tails joined her. “That’s the Aunt Sally I know! TRANSFORM!”, I exclaimed, slamming on the dial on Trixie to initiate the transformation sequence. The feeling was so nostalgic. I could tell I was no longer myself as each bone and fiber changed in my body, changing me into a new form. “No longer am I Allen Henegan! I am…Shadow the Hedgehog!”, I exclaimed in Shadow’s voice. I looked at my hand as a Chaos Spear formed in it, and immediately I skewered three robots at once.
The sounds of explosions filled the air as each robot fell to our attacks, their remains blazing in a fire alongside the fire that consumed the Freedom HQ. Sonic sighed heavily as he said, “That’s it, that’s all of them. Man, the old Egghead surely isn’t pulling any punches this time.” “At least we were able to defeat them all. Who knows what else Eggman has in store for us.”, Tails said, his arm returning back to normal. My stomach growled loudly as I plopped on the ground and said, “Ugh, I’m starving.” “You’re always hungry, Allen.”, Sally said, pulling out a small handheld system from the pouch on her hips. “Nicole, can you detect any other hostile enemies heading our way?”, she asked.
“There are three air fleets of Swatbots heading your way. I suggest a tactical retreat immediately.”, Nicole stated. “Yeah, but where?”, I asked, tapping my foot impatiently. “For now, let’s get out of the open. The Great Forest isn’t far from here, so we can hide there for now.”, Sally said. I nodded as I ran off in that direction, Tails and the others following behind. What I didn’t notice was that there was a small cloud of smoke following behind us as well. Faster and faster we ran, seeing the forest come into view. We immediately ducked into the trees as the first airship flew over to our previous location, a bunch of Swatbots swarming the area. “Alright, we’re safe. For now, at least.”, Sally said, sitting down on a tree stump with a sigh. I nodded in agreement as I sat down on another tree stump and said, “Alright, now you can explain what is going on here. How on Earth did Eggman get enough power to take over all of Mobius like this?”
Sally sighed and removed one of her gloves, tossing it over to me. I caught it and immediately, a horrible memory was shown into my mind: one of a reality where she was roboticized and the entire planet was destroyed. “Sally, what am I seeing here?”, I said with a shocked tone. “These are the events that occurred before the SGW happened.”, she replied softly. “SGW?”, I asked. “It’s an acronym for Super Genesis Wave, Allen. After the War of Paradoxes occurred, most of us returned to our home worlds to check the damage the Neostrama virus did. Apparently, another universe had bled into ours.”, Tails stated, remembering what had happened. “Some crackpot named Dr. Wily helped create the SGW with Eggman and the entire planet was destroyed right in front of our eyes. Of course, me and the other Freedom Fighters, we were able to fix everything back to the way things were. But, there was a cost…I’m certain you can figure that one out.”, Sonic said with a slight frown on his face.
“Eggman took that opportunity and seized control and finally made his Eggmanland…how awful…”, I said, tightening my grip on Sally’s glove. “Exactly.”, Sally replied. I snorted and stood to my feet and said, “And he did all of this while I was asleep! I won’t stand for that! Eggmanland is going to crumble! TONIGHT!”, I stated. Sonic smirked and said, “Now that’s the Allen can-do spirit we all like.” I smiled, but then groaned when I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach which was growling loudly. “Ugh, I am starving. First thing first, we got to get something to eat!”, I replied. “How could you POSSIBLY be hungry still?!”, Tails exclaimed. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing, bro. I guess it’s the rush of energy that I have been getting each day since I woke up.”, I said with a chuckle. “It’s your Saiyan powers catching up with you. Eight years is definitely a long time, and your powers are now free to grow back to the state it was before the war, so you must have a rather high and fast metabolism at the moment.”, Sonic stated. I nodded in agreement, and then frowned slightly. I breathed out softly, seeing a cloud of steam escape from my mouth. “Guys…did it just get….ten degrees colder?”, I asked.
“Really?”, Tails said, his right arm revealing a temperature gauge immediately. “Wow, it did! Wonder what caused that?”, he said. We were about to get our answer, because out of nowhere, a knife planted itself right in between my legs, barely missing me. “YIKES!”, I exclaimed, clinging to another tree. “Where did that come from?!”, I asked, breathing heavily. “Heh, still quick on your feet, I see!”, a voice cried out. Sonic’s eyes widened when he heard the voice. “Wait….no, it can’t be! We were told they died!”, the Mobian stated. I raised an eyebrow, but felt the temperature drop even more as a hand of ice formed around the knife. We watched as a body form from the hand slowly, my eyes widening as it turned into a body I recognized: a body of a certain hedgehog. I watched as the hedgehog remove the knife from the tree stump and place it in a holster and say, “Good to see you again….Allen.”
“Rai!”, I said with a happy tone. Rai immediately put his finger to his lips and said, “Shhh! Eggman’s robots aren’t far. He doesn’t know that Daisy and I are still on the run.” Sonic walked over to his brother and hugged him tightly. “I was so worried! I thought I lost you two!”, he said. Rai chuckled and patted his older brother on the back and said, “It’ll take more than a scrambled egg to catch us. We’ve been on the run far too long for that. Now, enough of the mush. We got work to do.” I raised an eyebrow and said, “We?” Rai nodded and then turned to face me. “Daisy and I have been keeping an eye on Eggman for the last few days. With a little luck, we can bust out the Freedom Fighters and take down Eggmanland.”, he stated.
I whistled softly and said, “Well then, someone is ahead of the game.” I frowned and immediately tapped Rai’s forehead and said, “What does he have to say about it though?” Rai chuckled as a shadowy aura surrounded him, veins appearing drastically on his left eye. “You mean me?!”, Rito replied in a raspy voice. I jumped back in a fighting pose and said, “Want to make something of it, Rito!? Don’t think I have forgiven you for your actions all those years ago!” Rito shook his head and said, “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead already. Besides, I have no need to interfere.” My eyes widened when Rito said that. “Wow, sounds like Rai tamed you.”, I said, only to see a blade of ice form right at my neck. “Not a chance.”, Rito snarled. “I want to destroy everyone and everything in my path. I could care less on what happens to this world. But, as long as I may exist in Rai’s head, whatever he does, I must live with it.”, he continued. He closed his eyes as the shadow aura faded, a soft groan escaped from his lips. His eyes opened once more, and we could tell Rito swapped back with Rai. “Ow, my head….I guess you can tell what he thinks of this.”, Rai said.
“Yeah, you could say that. Well then, to Mt. Mobius we go!”, I said, turning in the direction of the mountain before getting stopped by Rai. “Not that way. Eight years ago, we finally settled things with the royal family. We’ve long moved back into New Mobotropolis.”, he said. “Oh really?! That’s excellent news!”, I said, turning back around. “Then to New Mobotropolis we go!”, I said, only to get pinned to the ground by Rai. “Not that way either, idiot! Eggman has the entire city watched!”, he said. “Then where is Daisy then?”, Sonic asked. Rai helped me to my feet then walked deeper into the Great Forest. “This way.”, he said, moving quickly in a specific direction. I raised an eyebrow as Sally and the others walked ahead of me, leaving me behind. “Hey! Wait for me!”, I said, catching up with them.
With each passing second, the forest grew darker and darker as we kept moving in the direction Rai led us towards. I was starting to get a bit worried until we finally came to a stop in a solid clearing that had a dead white tree in the middle…..
Rai walked over to the tree and pulled a bush away from the trunk, revealing a door at the base. “Whoa, hideaway tree.”, I said, surprised that this tree wasn’t destroyed. “This is the place I used to stay when Daisy used to train me when we were on the run. Not even Eggman knows about it.”, Rai said, opening the door. The sound of a clacking keyboard welcomed us as I saw a bright tuft of yellow near a string of computers on the other side of the room. “About time you showed back up, Rai. Did you happen to bring my coffee?”, Daisy said. I chuckled and said, “Not this time, Dr. Akiza.” The keyboard stopped as she said, “Dr. Akiza, huh? …Not many people call me that anymore.” She turned the chair around and said, “So you found Allen, huh kid?” Rai nodded and said, “As you anticipated, he showed up at Freedom HQ and barely escaped intact.” Daisy frowned roughly at Rai and he groaned as he reached into his jacket and said, “AND I got your coffee. I didn’t forget…..this time.”  He tossed over a jar of coffee and Daisy sighed softly as she moved immediately to make her a cup.
“So, you two have been working hard to find a way into Eggman’s fortress?”, Tails asked, walking over to Daisy’s computer. “Indeed. Finding a way was simple. It’s MAKING the way that is going to be dangerous.”, Daisy said, getting interrupted with a loud growl from my stomach. “Can we talk this over supper? I’m starving!”, I asked. Daisy chuckled and shook her head. “There should be some leftover pizza in the refrigerator. Help yourself.”, she said, feeling a rough wind hit her as I ran by her. I immediately reheated the pizza and said, “Thanks, Daisy! You’re the best!”
Sonic chuckled and said, “Alright, sis. Why would making the path be dangerous?” Daisy sipped from her cup of coffee and said, “It’s because the only path is the sewers, and all the entrances but ONE has been sealed off, and the sewers are crisscrossed with robots and security cameras.” “Only one path? Which is that?”, Tails asked. “Would you believe me if I said under the old castle on the outskirts of town?”, Daisy said. I burped slightly as I continued eating and said, “Sorry about that. You mean Queen Aleena’s old castle?” Rai twitched slightly as his mother’s name was mentioned, obviously still on bad terms with her. Daisy nodded and brought up a schematic of their family home and said, “It’s directly built above a manhole that wasn’t being used anymore. If we can drill down through it, we can easily get access through the sewers through there. From there, things aren’t going to be as quiet as we would want them to be, but getting to the captured prisoners will be a cinch.”
I walked over to the others chomping into another piece of pizza and looked at the schematics of the sewers and asked, “Is Eggman still running on the old security system he had eight years ago?” Daisy raised an eyebrow then typed in a few keys on the computer to show me exactly what I asked for. “Hmm….looks like he upgraded it a bit. Sally, think Nicole can hack into the security system?”, I asked the chipmunk. “Of course she can! Well, with a little help from the main version of her.”, Sally said, removing the small handheld computer from her pouch.
“Very well then. It’s time to get to work.”, I said, finishing the last slice of pizza. “Wow, Mobian food always hits the spot!”, I said. I looked at Daisy and said, “May I take that seat?” Daisy smirked as she moved from the chair, allowing me to sit down in front the computer. “Disengage lock, Trixie.”, I stated, feeling the Aelitatrix unlatch herself from my wrist. I then removed a USB cable from her and connected it to the computer, another connecting to Nicole’s handset. I typed in a few programs, seeing the Sacred Seal appear on the screen, followed by Nicole’s avatar. “Wake up, Nicole. We got work to do.”, I said with a gentle voice. Nicole yawned slightly and said, “Ah, Allen. Good to see you this fine afternoon. Where are you talking to me from? It’s certainly not DPU Headquarters nor is it your grandmother’s lab.”
I smiled as I moved slightly out of the way so she could see Sally standing right behind me. “Check out the face, Nicole.”, I stated. “PRINCESS SALLY!”, Nicole exclaimed, smiling widely. “You’re ok! I thought the worst had happened when I couldn’t access Freedom HQ’s supercomputer! You really need to upgrade that handheld. I couldn’t even tell that you were the one using it!”, she stated. Sally smiled and said, “Perhaps later, Nicole. Right now, we need your help to hack into Eggman’s security database. Can you do it?” Nicole grinned and said, “Come on now, Sally. I thought you had a challenge for me!”
“Easy, Nicole. He upgraded his system. Do be as discreet as possible.”, I said, until I heard someone shout out my name. “Allen Henegan, when you get back here, I am going to beat your head in!”, Jesus shouted through Nicole. A bead of sweat appeared on my forehead and said, “Sorry, Jesus. Business is business.” Jesus growled softly, but sighed and said, “That’s always how you work, Allen. Very well, I’ll get Zack and Sayori to work on the paperwork while you fix things over there.” I smiled and said, “Thanks, Jesus. Now, Nicole: hack the Egghead!” Nicole nodded as her eyes were filled with millions upon billions of binary code as she immediately began to hack into Eggman’s data mainframe.
Meanwhile, at the exact same time at Eggman’s fortress…
A loud laugh rang through the entire building as Eggman sat in front of two beings: an elderly Maximillion Acorn and a purple hedgehog. “The King and the former Queen Aleena Hedgehog. A long time ago, you two were a threat to my plans to enslave the entire planet. Of course, that was always thwarted by that miserable goody-two-shoes son of yours. And just when you both thought it was finally safe to let your guard down, the cosmos had different plans for this Zone and I appear to ruin everything again. Hehehe, that was a glorious day. Three long years of fighting against the hedgehog, loss after loss after loss, it took a toll. But, it only got even worse.”, Eggman said, stroking the ragged remains of his moustache.
“He’ll still stop you again and again, Julian. Sonic isn’t the type of person to give up without a fight.”, King Acorn stated, coughing slightly. The deranged doctor scoffed as he looked over at Aleena and said, “Do you have anything to add to the old man’s statement?” Aleena only smirked and said, “Just prepare for another defeat, dear Doctor. Your time is coming.” Eggman only shook his head and said, “That miserable rodent is probably back in Amaria stuffing the face of his beloved boss.” King Acorn raised an eyebrow when Eggman said that. “His boss? You mean the boy that was trapped here nine years ago?”, Maximillion stated, mentioning Allen from the last time he saw him. Eggman snarled as he chucked a cup at the chipmunk, watching it shatter dangerously close to his head. “Don’t mention him. That brat is just as much of a thorn in my side as the hedgehog is!”, Eggman snorted. At the mention of that, a bunch of alarms started to go off.
“What’s going on here?!”, Eggman exclaimed, running over to his supercomputer. “Firewall has been breached, Doctor Eggman. All security camera feeds and systems are offline.”, the computer stated. “How is that even possible? There is no one on this entire planet that has the technology to do such a thing!”, Eggman stated, trying to reboot his security.
Meanwhile, back with Sonic and the others, we had finally left Daisy and Rai’s hideout behind, making quick pace for the Hedgehog Manor. Faster and faster we moved, seeing the old castle come up into view…
Rai shook his head as we finally came to a stop at the padlocked gate, a soft growl escaping his lips. Daisy looked over at him and said, “Easy, Rai, easy. We can’t have you falling to pieces, not here.” Rai sighed and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just this place…..so many years since we were last here, huh?” Daisy nodded softly and said, “I guess you are right. So many memories still linger about this place. But, we don’t have time to reminisce.” Tails stepped forward as his right arm turned into a pair of lock picks, but I cleared my throat and said, “No time for that, Tails! Gangway!” Tails immediately stepped aside as I rammed into the gate, knocking it down off of its hinges. “Wow! That was awesome.”, I said with a grin. “Nice work, bro! Now let’s move!”, Sonic said, lifting me back onto my feet. I followed behind Sonic, hearing the others keep up the pace with us. Sonic pushed at the old manor doors slightly, watching them open wide with a loud squeak. I stepped in, sneezing loudly from the cloud of dust that welcomed me.
“This place has been abandoned for a while now. Sure, our mom is still Queen Aleena and all, but she has long lost her rank of power.”, Daisy said, following the schematics to the building to find the entry point to the sewers. “Man oh man, this place sure has seen better days.”, Sonic said, wiping some dust off his nose. I walked over to one specific area, placing a hand on a nearby countertop and said, “It may be abandoned, but it’s still in good living condition. My guess is that everything hasn’t been touched in about five years.” Tails nodded and said, “That’s right. Miss Aleena had moved out of this castle five years ago when she was invited to stay at Castle Acorn. She may no longer be a queen, but she is the mother of Mobius’ hero, after all.” I smirked as I walked over to Daisy and said, “Have you found it yet?” She nodded as she pointed over towards a nearby couch and said, “It’s under there. Sonic, Rai, move the couch and I’ll take care of getting us down.”
I watched as the two brothers moved the couch, revealing a clear spot out of the dust that covered the floor. Daisy walked over to the spot and removed her glove from her left hand, placing it immediately on the ground. A soft rumble was heard throughout the house as the section of floor she stood on gave way to the Earth beneath it, she immediately dropped down into a hole. “You alright, Daisy? Everything look ok down there?”, I asked. “Yes, everything’s fine. Come on down and be careful. There is no ladder.”, she replied. I nodded as I looked over at Sally and said, “Well then, ladies first.” She chuckled as she hopped down the hole, the rest of us following behind her. Daisy eyed her left hand as small balls of light formed at her fingertips. “Stay close behind me, and be careful.”, she said, walking down in one direction towards the direction Eggmanland laid. 
Meanwhile, within Eggman’s fortress, a soft whimper was heard as it escaped from the lips of a young teenager. “Are you alright, Cream?”, her mother said, patting her daughter on her head. “Are we ever going to get out of here, Mom?”, she asked, looking around at the other Freedom Fighters all shackled in thick cuffs and chains, herself included. “Don’t lose hope, kid. We’ll get out sooner than you may know it!”, a pink hedgehog stated, coughing slightly. “Amy….thank you.”, Vanilla stated. She sat back on the ground and looked up at the ceiling and said, “Sonic, where are you?” A soft hand rested itself on Vanilla’s shoulder, she immediately looking to her right to see Big the Cat gently consoling her. “He’ll be here, Ms. Vanilla. Do not worry.”, he said with a gentle smile. She smiled as she heard someone growl as they rattled their chains to break them. “Come on! Why haven’t these stupid chains broke yet?!”,a tall green crocodile exclaimed.  “Relax, Vector! They aren’t going to break, so stop trying.”, a young bee said sitting next to him. “That’s not how Team Chaotix works, Charmy! I’m going to bust out of these chains, just you wait! I mean, look at Espio! He’s trying to phase through his chains with his invisibility powers! Right, Espio?”, Vector stated, looking to his right to see a purple chameleon form beside him.
“I was originally planning on tricking the guard to make it seem like I escaped, so when he came in, I would knock him out to take the keys from him. Now, be quiet and let me concentrate.”, Espio said, looking in Vector’s direction as he disappeared again. Vector laughed and said, “See that?! I told you Team Chaotix never gives up!” Charmy rolled his eyes as he said, “As if that’ll work. We’re stuck in here forever!” A loud groan of annoyance was heard when Charmy said that. “Don’t you ever shut up, kid?”, a black and red armadillo said on the far side of the cell. “Since you mention it, Mighty, NO I DON’T! What are you going to do about it!?”, Charmy retorted.
Mighty was about to reply, but a loud beeping noise caught his attention. A Swatbot stood at the cell door and said, “Silence, prisoners! Dr. Eggman demands silence!” That’s when another rabbit laughed and said, “Y’all must be crazy to think we’ll just sit ‘ere quietly!” The Swatbot looked over at the rabbit and said, “You….You’re Bunnie Rabbot-D’Coolette, aren’t you?” Bunnie  grinned and said, “And what if I am?” The guard stared at her and said, “You are a traitor to the Eggman Empire. You used to be one of us.” She shook her head and said, “I was, but I regained my freedom long ago. Don’t even think I’ll ever give that up!”
Meanwhile, back in the sewers…
“Well, that’s the last of the robots. Thought there’d never be an end to them.”, Tails said, his right arm returning back to normal. I sighed softly as cracked my knuckles. “Yeah, you guys weren’t kidding about this path being dangerous.”, I replied. I frowned as I looked further down the tunnel and said, “You guys hear that?” Sonic looked at me and said, “What is it, Allen? What do you hear?” I shushed him slightly and cupped my hands over my ears to focus on the sound I was listening to. Finally, my eyes widened as I flew up to one spot on the tunnel roof, immediately punching at it furiously. “Allen Henegan, what are you doing?!”, Daisy exclaimed. “Here! Right here! I can hear Aunt Bunnie’s voice here!”, I said anxiously.
“Now, deliver a message from me to the Egghead: we’re going to get out of here and his Eggmanland will crumble again!”, Bunnie’s voice rang out through the sewer. “I couldn’t have said that better myself, Bunnie! OUT OF THE WAY!”, I said, bursting through the floor. Bunnie’s jaw dropped as she saw me standing in front of her. “A-A….ALLEN?!”, she exclaimed. “At your service!”, I replied, looking directly at the Swatbot. “Your move, metalhead. Your alarm won’t reach Dr. Egghead before you’re a heap of scrap metal.”, I remarked. “Alert! Alert! Intruders in Cell block H!”, the robot stated, trying frantically to get away, but was stopped suddenly by the cell door slamming into its back. I frowned as I reached into the robot and pulled out a small baby red bird, hearing it chirp happily. “Guess even with eight years, some things just never change, huh little friend?”, I asked the bird, placing it on my shoulders.
“Hey, Allen, everything ok up there?”, Sonic asked. “Yeah, Sonic! Come on up!”, I replied, removing the keys from the offline robot and returned to the cell, seeing Sonic hop up into the room with Daisy and the others. “Sonic! You’re back!”, Cream said, running over to him to give him a hug. Sonic chuckled as he patted the young rabbit on her head and said, “I told you I’d come back, Cream. Now, let’s get you guys out of here. Allen, the keys.” I nodded as I tossed him the keys then stood at the cell door, looking in both directions. “Is there any other prisoners here, Bunnie?”, I asked. The rabbit rubbed her wrists as the shackles were finally free from her and said, “Antoine and the others should be in the cell right next to us.” My eyes widened when she said that. “Frenchie’s here too?!”, I replied, hearing Antoine said, “I heard that!”
I laughed as I walked to the cell next to us and saw Bunnie’s husband, as well as a few other members of the Freedom Fighters as well as the entire Echidna race in the cell. “Well, it just proves you missed me, eh Antoine?”, I said, ripping the cell door from its hinges. “You certainly are a sight for sore eyes, Monsieur. “, Antoine replied as he stood up. I looked immediately to his right and said, “Well, if it isn’t Rotor. How are you faring, pal?” The light purple walrus smiled softly as he rubbed his sore wrists and said, “Better now that those accursed shackles are off. So, what do we do now?” I looked back at Sonic who walked into the cell and said, “Well, bro? Any ideas?” Sonic smirked and said, “The same as always, kid: trash the place and send the boiled egg packing!” I nodded and said, “There’s your answer, Rotor. So, do us a favor: any of the people here who aren’t going to fight, lead them out of here safely. Can you do that?”
“Understood. You heard him: any who aren’t fighting, follow me!”, Rotor said, walking out of the cell to the one next door to the entrance of the sewers. I watched as about half of the Mobians left as the wished the remainder good luck in the fight. I cleared my throat to speak, only to feel someone tug onto my tail end of my coat. I looked beside me to see Cream and Cheese standing right behind me with a serious look on her face. “Can I fight too, Mr. Allen? I’ve got to do something after how Dr. Eggman has treated everyone!”, she stated. My eyes widened when she asked that. “What? Cream, are you certain you want to do this? This will not be easy, mind you. You’re bound to get hurt.”, I replied. Tails then popped into the cell and said, “Actually, ever since you fell into that coma all that time, Cream here has become an official Freedom Fighter. You probably missed it, but did you happen to notice the little robot that was sitting beside Herbie back in Amaria?”
“Actually, I did notice it. I had figured it was just another Gunman from Kamina and Yoko’s world. Why, what about it?”, I asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s the Garden Guardian! Tails and I made it together so I could fight along with everyone else! Isn’t that right, Cheese?”, Cream asked the small Chao on her head. Cheese nodded in agreement, giving me the same serious look she had. “Chao, chao! “, Cheese stated. My eyes widened and I nodded back at the small creature. “Ok, ok. I get the picture. Man, things certainly have changed in eight years. Alright then, I’ll have Nicole send it here. Does it have autopilot?”, I asked. Cream nodded as I heard Nicole’s voice ring out on Trixie. “You called, Allen?”, she asked. “Could you send the Garden Guardian here, Nicole? Cream is going to need it.”, I stated. “Why, certainly! Garden Guardian is now online. Autopilot has been engaged, and it is off to your location!”, Nicole stated. I tapped my foot impatiently as I said, “I’m waiting! Where is it?!”
My answer came to me rather suddenly as I was knocked to the ground from Cream’s machine coming out from the Rift, landing immediately on my back. “Oww….thanks for that, Nicole.”, I grumbled. “My pleasure! Oh, and good luck. The alarms should be coming back online in the next ten seconds.”, she replied. I tapped Trixie once, cutting off the call to Amaria. I lifted up Cream’s robot and placed it beside her, watching her place Cheese into a small tank that was sitting on the back of it and said, “Ten seconds, huh? Looks like things are about to get really noisy. You guys ready for this? It’s do or die time.” Small bolts of lightning started to form around Daisy as she said, “Always, Mr. President.” I got a few nods of approval from the others that surrounded me as Tails looked out of the cell and said, “Incoming, guys! Swatbots!”
“Already!? Geez, that alarm must be quick!”, I said, transforming into Shadow yet again. “We still have another problem too, Allen: I didn’t see the King in any of the cells here. He must be up in Eggman’s throne room with him. Along with Queen Aleena as well, no doubt.”, Rai said, reforming right next to me. I frowned and said, “I figured that much. Alright guys, we’ll have to split up for this one. Daisy, I want you and Rai to go and take out any Swatbots that may try to come into the compound.” Rai grinned and said, “Our pleasure, Allen. Destroying things is our specialty. Can we get wild?” I nodded and he immediately said, “Alright! Let’s go, Daisy!” With a blink of my eyes, both of them disappeared, leaving in their path a bunch of Swatbots shredded to pieces. I then turned to Cream and said, “I want you to go with Tails as backup. Watch his back and take out any Swatbots that crosses you two’s path. As for you, Tails, I want you to light up this entire fortress with explosives. When we leave here, I want this place to go out with a bang! And this time, we make sure he can’t possibly do this again, got it?”
“Of course! Cream, let’s go!”, Tails said, flying out of the room with Cream following behind him, blasting even more Swatbots that came across them. “Now then, just us. We’re going straight to Eggman’s front door to get King Maximillion and Queen Aleena. I think that much we can handle in no time flat.”, I said as I walked out of the cell, looking back at Sonic and Sally. “Of course, Eggman’s going to put up some resistance.”, I concluded. “It doesn’t matter what he throws at us. He has enslaved the entire planet and he has my mother and Sally’s father. When we catch him this time, he’s definitely going to be locked up for good.”, Sonic said furiously. I nodded in agreement and said, “Well then. Let’s go crack an Eggman.”
As the small number of us slammed down onto Eggman’s forces, I along with Sonic and Sally moved forward to Eggman’s throne room. Meanwhile, at the same exact time…
“Those miserable goody-two-shoes are at it again! How did they even get into the fortress?!”, Eggman exclaimed, strangling one of his Swatbots. “Sorry, Doctor! They must’ve slipped in while security was down! In any case, a third of the battalion has been destroyed and the numbers keep increasing with each passing second! Not to mention the escapees are striking down each of our factories. It’s only a matter of time before the entire empire crumbles!”, the robot stated before it’s head was ripped from its body. “I don’t want excuses. I want them stopped and I want it done NOW!”, Eggman stated, tossing the robot head aside. He huffed as he stared at his supercomputer and said, “I cannot fail this time. It’s only six Mobians and that….that child!” Aleena chuckled and said, “And yet, that child is the Aelitatrix bearer. You’re outmatched, Julian.” Eggman snarled and slapped the purple hedgehog roughly across her face. “Don’t you dare patronize me, you rodent! This is just a minor setback; one that shall be dealt with swiftly! Hmm….in fact, you two are going to help me in this predicament.”, the hard-boiled Overlander stated, removing Aleena and Maximillion from their restraints, placing them down on the floor.
“And what makes you think we would do that?”, Maximillion said with a frown. Eggman grinned as he snapped his fingers, the floor opening up underneath the two Mobians. “I never said I gave you a choice. You two are going to have front row seats as my greatest achievement unfolds: the defeat of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Living Paradox!”, he stated, laughing maniacally. Meanwhile, halfway down the hallway, my eyes widened as I heard his laugh echo around us. “He’s in there! GANGWAY!”, I exclaimed, ramming into the doors and immediately knocking them off their hinges. “Ya know, you could’ve just knocked.”, Eggman stated, looking at us from his chair. “Don’t be coy with us, Egghead. You know what we’re here for. Where’s the King and Queen?”, Sonic said with a deep frown. Eggman grinned and said, “I’m sorry, but they are a bit busy at the moment. Perhaps I could relay your message to them whenever they return?” Sally’s eyes widened as two blades formed from her bangles once again. 
“Are you trying to be funny? Because I am not laughing!”, Sally stated, charging at Eggman furiously. I saw his face contort from his usual grin to a very heavy frown as I heard something creak loudly. I looked out of the corner of my eye and was shocked to see a gigantic blade appear out of the wall. “Aunt Sally, look out!”, I said, seeing Sonic run past me, grabbing her before she was impaled by the blade. Her eyes widened when she saw that embedded in the middle of the blade was her father encased in crystal, a bunch of wires was connected to the crystal as he beat on it to warn his daughter. “Father?!”, she exclaimed as the blade returned close to Eggman. I growled as I charged for Eggman as well, only to be met with a giant fist to my face. My eyes widened as I saw the fist open up to show another blade form within it, this time with Queen Aleena in the exact same place where Maximillion was. “You are a monster, Eggman! You’re using them as the power source for this thing!?”, I exclaimed as I spat blood out of my mouth. Eggman laughed as he said, “Of course I am! All the anger and rage these two have for me, directed to their loved ones? What other form of power would I dare to use? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must take my leave. Farewell!” He pressed a button on his chair, and he was immediately levitated away from our location, both the King and Queen merging into the walls. The entire building began to rumble as Eggman’s lift came to a stop. “What is he doing now?!”, Sonic exclaimed. My eyes widened as I ran over to a window. “No…it can’t be! He couldn’t have done all of this in eight years!”, I stated. “Allen, what is it? What’s wrong?”, Sally asked. I pressed a button on Trixie and said, “Tails! Cream! Can you hear me!?” “Loud and clear, Allen! What’s going on over there?! The entire place is shaking!”, Tails stated. “Get out of there! NOW! Eggman turned all of New Mobotropolis into his robot!”, I said as I looked out of the window, seeing the entire area rise into the sky, revealing a gigantic robot within.
“Allen, it’s not safe here! We need to get out of here and fast!”, Sonic stated. I nodded in agreement as I saw a bunch of laser cannons emerge from the walls surrounding us. “Uh-oh. Time to go!”, I said, carrying both Sonic and Sally out the room, barely dodging the cannon fire. Faster and faster I ran as more and more cannon fire erupted around us. Finally, I burst out of the doors, landing on the ground below. I frowned as I placed Sonic and Sally onto their feet, immediately returning my attention to the robot behind us. “It’s even bigger than I thought it would be. How? How did he make this monstrosity in such a short amount of time!?”, I exclaimed. “That’s not important right now, Allen. The most important thing is this: HOW DO WE STOP IT?”, Sally asked. I lowered my head in thought, only to feel the ground beneath me tremble. I looked down only to see Daisy staring back at me. “Akiza!?”, I exclaimed, jumping back slightly.
“So this is where the escape route went? Ironic you landed right on top of us, Mr. President.”, Daisy said as she climbed out of the hole, helping her brother and the other Mobians out from below. “You’re all ok! Thank goodness you got away safely. I almost thought you were all still stuck up there.”, I stated. “Up there? What are you talking about, Henegan?”, Rai stated, cleaning the dust off his shades. “That’s what I am talking about.”, I replied, pointing up at the giant robot above everyone’s heads. “How is that even possible!? Daisy had the entire city monitored! Eggman couldn’t have possibly built that under our noses!”, Rai exclaimed. “I know that! The only possible way he could’ve made that in such a short amount of time is if he was in Amaria, and he CANNOT go there. But right now, that’s not important. We got to take that thing down and I haven’t a single idea how.”, I replied.
“Why can’t we just go back in there and take it out from the inside?”, Tails said, walking up beside me. I shook my head and said, “Way too dangerous, kid. Eggman has every hallway laced with guns, cannons, lasers, and who knows what else. The thing is nothing but a colossus that can snuff out a person’s life in one large blast. Not to mention Queen Aleena and King Maximillion is being used as the energy source of that thing. No, if we’re to rescue them safely and defeat Eggman, it’d have to be from the outside.” Daisy raised an eyebrow at me and said, “From the OUTSIDE, Henegan? Are you certain that is wise? Might I remind you that none of us has the technology or the power to even stop it.” I frowned even harder, but then, a small beeping noise came from Trixie.  “Not now, Trixie. I’m thinking.”, I said. “But, Allen, the answer is quite obvious on what must be done.”, Trixie stated. My eyes widened when she stated that. “You have an idea, Trixie? THEN SPILL IT ALREADY!”, I exclaimed. “Now now, calm down. All you got to do is become a giant yourself and take him down.”, she stated calmly. “Allen….becoming a giant?! Now that’s a bit far-fetched, don’t you think, Trixie?”, Tails stated. In an instant, the Aelitatrix ejected a jet of oil into Tails’ face and said, “Never underestimate Lady Retsu’s greatest piece of work, young Mobian! Transforming Allen into a giant is a walk in the park!”
“Alright, now I am a bit lost, Trixie. I myself have checked your databanks for all the available transformations I could take. Not once have I ever come across a giant transformation.”, I replied. “It’s not a transformation, Allen. It’s a spell. Does the words Release Restraint mean anything to you?”, Trixie stated. “Release Restraint? That’s the name of a Spell Card from the Duel Monsters card game that Joey Wheeler uses to summon Gearfried the Swordsmaster. What about it?”, I asked. “The name was derived from Celestian dialect. It’s a code word that was created by one of the first Riftbearers that had the ability to transform into a giant. Only with those words was that ability accessible. That Riftbearer was Retsu’s father. She poured the last of her strength into me in order to make sure that ability would be accessible when the time was right.”, Trixie replied. “A skill that Retsu’s father had?”, I said in astonishment. “Wow, those Celestians were in a league of their own, huh?”, Tails said, wiping his face clean. “Uh guys? Now’s not the time to be impressed! We still have the King and Queen to rescue!”, Sally stated.
‘Sally’s right, Allen! Trixie revealed a new power, so let’s use it!’, Yami stated. ‘Right!’, I replied, lunging into the air, swapping places with Yami. “Eggman, your reign ends now!”, Yami yelled loudly. “Ah, so you got out. It’s a shame that this will be the last time we face off against each other.”, Eggman’s voice stated. I smirked and said, “Always too confident, Doctor. Hasn’t anyone told you good triumphs over evil EVERY TIME?” Eggman laughed and replied, “I find that a pathetic excuse of chivalry from do-gooders like you! It’s the end for you this time, Living Paradox!” I raised an eyebrow when Eggman said that. ’Living Paradox? That’s three times in this week I have been called that. It’s like those words are following me!’, I thought to myself. ‘Allen, focus! Look out!’, Yami replied, both of us getting smacked with a gigantic robot hand, both of us coming to the ground with a loud crash. “Allen!”, Sonic exclaimed, running over to my location immediately, seeing that I was sitting in a crater, shaking my head.
“Nice one, Egghead. Your words distracted me. But now, it’s my move. Trixie, Release Restraint!”,Yami stated. “Activating Release Restraint. Transformation sequence activated!”, Trixie replied, a bright light enveloping my entire body. Eggman frowned and said, “What’s this? Another one of your cheap tricks?” His eyes widened when he saw a gigantic fist slam into his cockpit. I re-emerged from the light, standing eye to eye with his robot with a confident grin on my face as Yami stated, “No tricks. Just evening the playing field, baldy. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be relieving the Queen from you now!” In an instant, Yami gripped onto the robot’s left arm, ripping it from its socket immediately. Loud alarms blared inside the cockpit, Eggman stunned beyond belief that one of his robot’s arms was detached as if it was being held together with sticky putty. “Power output at 50 percent, Dr. Eggman. I do recommend using caution for further usage of this robot.”, Decoe stated. Eggman growled as he looked to his left to see a shattered robot head that used to belong to his robot Decoe wired into the console of the robot. He smacked it roughly and said, “Don’t tell me something I don’t already know, you pathetic appliance!”
“What’s the matter, Dr. E? Ran out of steam already? I was just getting warmed up!”, I stated with a cheeky grin. “Silence, you meddlsome brat! Every plan I can think of, foiled by you and that wretched pin cushion! I’m through with losing to you, Henegan! Die!”, Eggman replied, firing rockets at me. I dodged the rockets and blew a raspberry at the mad scientist and stated, “Where are you aiming, Doc? That missed me by a mile!” He grinned and said, “Who said I was aiming at you?” My eyes widened as I turned around and saw the rocket head directly towards New Mobotropolis. “No!”, I exclaimed, running towards the city. I immediately landed over it and took the full blast of the rocket. “Allen, are you alright?!”, King Acorn stated, finally removed from the dislodged robot arm. I grimaced and said, “Y-Yeah, I’m fine! Just a few cuts, but no damage. But this is the first time I’ve seen Eggman react like this! I’ve got to stay on my toes, cause one false step could cost millions of lives!”
“This isn’t one of your normal fights, Allen! Eggman has stepped up his game and he certainly won’t make things easy!”, Sally stated. She then turned and said, “Look out!” I looked in the direction Sally was looking, only to get a metallic foot to the face. “Ow! No seriously, OW!!! What person hits someone in the face with a foot!?”, I exclaimed, covering my face with my face. “YOU WOULD!”, Eggman said, punching me in the stomach with the sole arm of his robot. I gasped loudly for air as I was launched over the city, landing flat on my back. “Right…I would.”, I wheezed, returning up to one knee. ‘Allen, this cannot be the same Eggman that we know! Perhaps it’s another one from another universe? That is a possibility.’, Yami stated. I coughed and replied, “No such luck, unfortunately. That’s definitely him. Which is why he needs to be stopped, and now!” With a quick burst of speed, I launched myself into the robot, punching it rapidly with each length of distance it flew. 
‘I can’t counter his attacks! My controls aren’t responding fast enough! CURSE YOU, HENEGAN!’, Eggman thought as his robot began falling apart around him, an emergency siren blaring loudly in his ears. “Dr. Eggman, we have reached maximum damage capacity. If you do not escape now, you will not survive the next attack.” Eggman growled as he ripped Decoe’s head from his console and said, “Well, we cannot have that, can we!? You win this time, kid! But I will be back! You haven’t seen the last of me!” With a push of a button, Eggman’s seat converted to his sole carrier vehicle. I watched as he flew past me quickly, but I noticed something that sent chills up my spine: he looked directly at me with a crazed grin as he ripped at two dolls that looked exactly like Sonic and I.
With that, I could tell that Dr. Eggman wasn’t entirely himself anymore. As he vanished in the distance, I immediately disposed of Eggman’s robot safely, removing Queen Aleena from her confines in the process. After that, I shrunk down to my natural size in order to help clean up around New Mobotropolis, which took a total of two full days with some help. It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it! With the start of the third day, however…
“Well guys, I think we stayed here long enough. It’s high time we return to Amaria. Still got plenty of work to be done.”, I stated as I stood over Sonic, Tails, Sally, and Cream. “Mmm, and just when I was finally getting a good amount of sleep for once.”, Sonic stated as he sat up slightly, waking Sally up in the process. “Sleep when we get back home, Big Blue. I, for one, am in need of a nice bath.”, I replied. Tails lifted his goggles from in front of his eyes and asked, “Does that mean that all the repair work around here is finished?” I nodded when he asked that. “There’s just enough work left where we aren’t needed here anymore.” Cream stood to her feet and stretched slightly, picking up Cheese off the ground next to her as she said, “In that case, I’ll head off first. Momma is probably waiting for me back in town. We’ll return to Amaria as soon as everything is done here, ok Mr. Allen?”
“Alright then, Cream. Be careful, alright?”, I stated. She nodded as she looked at Cheese and said, “Ready to go, Cheese?” The chao smiled widely and shouted, “Chao, chao!” to the preteen as she placed him in the energy chamber of her Garden Guardian, and with a wave of her hand, she hopped into the cockpit and flew away. “Alright then. Sonic, Tails, you two ready to go?”, I asked. Sonic looked at Sally and said, “Sorry, Sal. I have to go back with him. I’m needed there.” She shook her head slightly and said, “I know. Go. I know how to reach you if Eggman causes any more trouble here.” She then turned her attention to me and said, “Look out after him, Allen?” I leaned over and hugged Sally and said, “Always, Aunt Sally.”
“Hey, you’re not gonna leave without saying goodbye to us, are you?! Rude!”, a voice rang out around us. I smirked as Daisy and Rai’s bodies reformed behind us. I smiled softly and said, “Well then, you two. Still walking down the dangerous path?” Daisy chuckled and said, “Someone has to. There is no rest for people who seek to protect the ones that are important to their lives.” Daisy motioned in one direction where I saw another female hedgehog standing in the distance waving at her. I smiled at Daisy and said, “When did that happen?” She looked up to the sky and said, “Two years ago.” I looked at Rai and said, “And you?” He nodded and said, “Many alternate universes have clashed with Mobius Prime’s to make the world we live in now. As for me, I too have found someone special. Who knows how long it’ll last though?” I placed a hand on his shoulder and replied with one word: “Forever.”
With a few more words of goodbye, we all went our separate ways once more. As we entered the Dimensional Rift, we took one final look at Sally, Rai, and Daisy who were waving goodbye with smiles as we journeyed our way to Amaria once again. We knew it wouldn’t be the last time we’d go back to our original stomping ground. We knew for a solid fact that our work was far from complete and the adventure was only getting warmed up….

To be continued….