Doing it Better: Neo Sonic 8 (Prologue)

*Angel Island*

CAPTION: 4000 years ago

Under the veil of the full moon, 2 factions of Echidnas come face to face with each other. The regular Echidnas led by one “Pachahamec”, and the other led by one “Athair” (think with Keith Silverstein’s voice, and wearing Enerjak’s costume)

PACHA: That is it, Athair! You have gone too far! It’s one thing to keep the Gaian Stones from leaving our grasp, but to flood the planet!? It’s madness!
ATHAIR: Though it was an unforeseen outcome, we will do what is necessary to keep the Stones from leaving this planet! If madness is the answer, then let madness achieve results!
PACHA: You arrogant fool! How do you suppose we will find the Gaian Stones now!? They will be submerged within the depths of the seas!
ATHAIR: Then they are safe from prying hands! How often did you believe we would keep fighting invaders and traitors to keep the stones safe!? The Felines, the Babylonian, those stones would’ve led to perpetual conflict! It is better this way.
PACHA: What gives you the right to dictate such!?
ATHAIR: Those that came before us designated the Guardian Angels as the sole protectors of the Gaian Stones. And the wars of old have shown that merely being a guard for an altar is not enough! If the world below must drown for us to maintain peace for future generations, then so be it! Or perhaps…. that isn’t the truth behind your rage. You saw fit to use the Stones for your OWN ambitions, haven’t you!?
PACHA: You dare excuse me of such treachery!?
GUARDIAN: We have seen it in your eyes, Pachahamac! Ambition to expand our tribal borders across this planet! Taking on the airs of the Felines who betrayed us! You allied with the Babylonians to steal the Gaian Stones for your own purposes!
PACHA: Grrr!
ATHAIR: We’ve achieved levitation without their aid. All you’ve done was waste your time and energy trying to create allies with outsiders! All so that one day, you would stab them and us in the back so that you could rule all!
PACHA: And why not!? Have we not led the charge to destroying the Gaian race!? Was it not our coalition and planning that led to our victories!? The Felines wished to establish their dominance early on, we should’ve done the same! It is our right to take charge of the world! Not to disassociate from it!
GUARDIAN: You see, Athair!? He admits it!
ATHAIR: Yes. He did. Leave now, Pachahamac. You do NOT want to invoke our wrath!
PACHA: TO HELL WITH YOU!!!! I will not remain stagnant on an island in the skies! WE DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS!!!

The Echidnas all attack the Guardians in what could be a civil war. One that Athair’s side was winning easily.

After a long drawn out conflict, Pachahamac’s forces were all beaten and/or killed.

PACHA: What will you do now, Athair!?
ATHAIR: You do not wish to remain on this island? You do not need to. We will send you some place… .that is more to your liking!

Athair and the Guardian brandish 7 Chaos Rings, and levitate them iin the air above Pacha’s forces.

PACHA: What…. what are you doing!?
ATHAIR: Making sure you never return to do harm to us again!

The rings then spin around in a circle, opening a portal into another dimension! Pacha’s faction is then sucked in!

PACHA: YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS, ATHAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!

And just that, they’re gone.

ATHAIR: ……..My brothers. Forgive me. For we are the last of our kind now. We may never survive. So if possible, let us live out the rest of our lives doing what is absolutely necessary… to ensure this world does not fall to chaos ever again!

*Twilight Cage*

A slight montage here shows Pachahamac and his faction being trapped in a dimension of darkness. They survive after several generations, adapting to it’s world, creating new technologies, and eventually escaping through a dimensional gateway of their creation.

*Spagonia Library*

CAPTION: 16 years ago

A much younger Ivo Robotnik is at a library trying to read upon the history of his ancestor, Julian Robotnik. But a Mobian child keeps making noises.

ROBOTNIK: *groans*
KID: *giggling*

Losing his patience, he gets up and leaves with the book.

LIBRARIAN: Sir!? You can’t just take…. oh dear.

*Streets*

As he walks home, he sees Human and Mobian children playing together, having fun, much to his dismay.

*Robotnik’s Home*

Returning home, he is greeted by Heavy and Bomb.

BOMB: Told you that library was gonna be boring as (bleep)! What’s up, Doc!?
ROBOTNIK: *groans* Hello again, Bomb. I had told you it was going to be a short trip. Do not act so surprised that this had happened!
BOMB: So whatcha check out now!?
ROBOTNIK: The only book detailing the exploits of Julian Robotnik and his expedition into Mobius. I need to know exactly why we have so many vermin running loose in the city!
BOMB: Easy! Who would want to go on tour in Spagonia if you didn’t have a bunch of furry aliens running around!?
ROBOTNIK: They exist all across the planet, you idiot! To a sickening degree, might I add. Our global economy cannot support so many of these rodents coming in, and yet our politicians do everything to appease them while many of our own are forced out onto the streets!

He opens a window.

ROBOTNIK: Look at them! They’re not even human, and yet we must treat them on equal terms as us. They’re just bipedal animals who can speak our language. Mere freeloading denizens who, because of the cowardice of our leaders, wish to appease them if only to appear accepting of those different from us!
BOMB: Sounds like you resent your great, great, great, great-
ROBOTNIK: Julian is not excluded from critique merely because I come from his loins. If one makes a mistake that affects the future, it needs to be taken into account
BOMB: Ain’t you friends with some of them? What was it uhhhhhhh Mr. Corn?
ROBOTNIK: Chief Inspector Acorn, I merely tolerate only because I need to. Not because I enjoy his company. The fact that he pesters me so often is aggravating to say the least.

The doorbell rings.

ROBOTNIK: Speak of the devil.
BOMB: Aww come on, doc! You really think that old fart is gonna be behind the door-

He goes for the door and finds that… yes. Maximilian Acorn is at the door.

BOMB: Oh (bleep) you! Your intuition is bull(bleep)!
ROBOTNIK: There’s a camera outside, and a monitor near the door, you fool.
BOMB: Well my point still stands!
ACORN: Good to know your nostalgia has gotten the better of you, Ivo. I never did think it wise to follow through with that old promise.
ROBOTNIK: Well why recycle what serves as examples of my genius from a young age?
BOMB: Aww, he lies about the real reason he keeps us around!

Robotnik tosses an object at Bomb, knocking him off the table!

BOMB: HEY! I can blow your stupid house up, you know!
ROBOTNIK: So, I hear you recently had twin brats.
BOMB: DON’T IGNORE ME!!!
ACORN: Well, yes. They’re quite a handful, but that’s how infants are.
ROBOTNIK: *whispers* Yes, now there are a “handful” more.
ACORN: What was that?
ROBOTNIK: *groans*
ACORN: You know, if you actually took the time to find yourself a companion, you wouldn’t have to concern yourself with our numbers.
ROBOTNIK: On the contrary. I would not have to concern myself with numbers if you didn’t receive special treatment!
ACORN: Hmph. If anyone is to blame for that, it would have to be Julian Robotnik himself. Your ancestor contributed to the relations of both our worlds.
ROBOTNIK: Yes, it’s quite one-sided, isn’t it? Tell me, how many humans live amongst the Mobians of your world?
ACORN: ……….
ROBOTNIK: Oh of course. I had forgotten that per the agreement, all but my direct bloodline are allowed to even step foot into Mobius. Curiously, many of your kind tend to flock here in droves either as tourists or denizens.
ACORN: You mean “citizens”. And such an agreement was proposed by Julian himself as he believed “your kind” could not be trusted with the safety of our environment and our people. And that belief was affirmed with your grandfat-
ROBOTNIK: And you condemned more than him to oblivion. Your capacity for destruction is the only thing equal to our own.
ACORN: …….*sighs* There is no apology that will make up for…. Maria, I know that. But something had to be done about him.
ROBOTNIK: I wonder if you still feel that way about humans considering how chummy dear old dad is with Mobians.
ACORN: ……..That’s…. why I came here, Ivo.
ROBOTNIK: ………What do you mean?
ACORN: …………He’s been murdered!
ROBOTNIK: *glowing eyes*………..WHAT!?

*Cemetary*

A funeral is held for Kinto Robotnik. Many of Kinto’s friends (including the future Jackal Squad as children) were there. After his coffin is lowered into the ground, Robotnik stands before it, shedding only one tear for him. A young Abraham Tower (The GUN Commander from Shth) walks behind him. Imagine him with the voice of Scott Macdonald (Nick Fury in MUA1)

TOWER: I’m sorry, Ivo. I wish there was a better way to break the news.
ROBOTNIK: Just tell me… who is responsible for this!
TOWER: The United Federation is already leading an investigation, you don’t need to involve your-
ROBOTNIK: He was my father….. Abraham. I have a right to know who his killers were!
TOWER: ……..Very well

*Small office*

Tower shows Robotnik photographs of the “Marauders”.

ROBOTNIK: Are they…. machines?
TOWER: No. Chief Inspector Acorn managed to catch one of them. They appear to be Mobian.
ROBOTNIK: Are you suggesting that Mobians murdered my father!?
TOWER: Ironic, isn’t it? Kinto enjoyed the company of Mobians, helping them live better lives, and they turned on him in an instant. I never trusted those walking furballs!
ROBOTNIK: What about a motive? They couldn’t have just killed him for some… brazen action?
TOWER: GUN is investigating that. “Our” side of GUN. Though, some believe it is related to what Gerald Robotnik did. Er… no offense.
ROBOTNIK: None taken. So he was judged for the sins of the father.
TOWER: It would appear so. We’ve seen these beings appear here in the human world years prior. If only we knew what they were after.
ROBOTNIK: Leave that to me.
TOWER: What!?
ROBOTNIK: I have ways of finding out the truth!

*Streets*

Robotnik was working with Heavy and Bomb to establish a trap for the Marauders.

BOMB: So lemme get this straight. You’re a scientist working with the aid of 2 robots you built when you were in diapers, creating a sort of trap… in the hopes of catchin some “ninjas”!?
ROBOTNIK: Is that fear in your voice, Bomb?
BOMB: Nah! It’s called common sense! You are out of yo damn mind if you think this is gonna work! We’ll be torn to shreds!
ROBOTNIK: The absurdity of such a plan will be meaningless so long as you follow my commands to the letter!
BOMB: Sure it will! And then what!? You gonna Ebay our ass parts to make up for the costs of repairing us!?
ROBOTNIK: For the love of God, shut your mouth and pay attention to your surroundings!

As they bicker, a single Marauder leaps through the city roof tops.

ROBOTNIK: One of them just appeared! Now! Initiate the trap!

Heavy hits a switch that activates…. fireworks!?

Silly as it were, it manages to scare the Marauder out of hiding, and to run in the opposite direction!

ROBOTNIK: Good! Head to your position, now!

Robotnik fires a “warning shot” past the Marauder’s face, grazing his helmet, and sending him falling. He slides down the side of a building and lands on his feet, taking off through the alleys. However, Bomb had appeared in front of him!

BOMB: FREEZE (bleep)ch!

Bomb explodes, blowing the marauder backward into a wall. But the force wasn’t strong enough to knock him out. He escapes into the sewers below.

BOMB: I hope his snout is strong enough!
ROBOTNIK: He won’t get the chance.

Robotnik presses a switch that sends shockwaves through the sewers with a force strong enough to send geysers of sewage to flush out of the sewer manes, flushing out the marauder as well!

BOMB: EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!
MARAUDER: *coughs*
BOMB: AND his mouth was open! I know he’s nauseous as hell!

Robotnik sets his gun to stun, and shoots the Marauder in place!

MARAUDER: Grr… no!!!
ROBOTNIK: How about we take a little trip?

*Robotnik’s lab*

Heavy unmasks the marauder.

ROBOTNIK: Hmm. I was told that the Echidnas were extinct. But no matter. Who are you and where have you come from!?
MARAUDER: I’m not telling you anything, human!
ROBOTNIK: Honestly, that remark has told me enough! What kind of grievance do you have against the human race?
MARAUDER: Grievance?! None that warrants your concern! It is a distinction we hold for who is Mobian and who isn’t! We harbor no ill will toward you as you do for us!
ROBOTNIK: Hmm?
MARAUDER: We make it our priority to know everything about those that may be a threat to us!
ROBOTNIK: Is THAT why you killed Kinto Robotnik!? You perceived him to be a threat!?
MARAUDER: Kinto…. oh right! You’re his son, aren’t you!?
ROBOTNIK: …………..
MARAUDER: Kinto is not one we consider an enemy! He loved Mobians too much to ever be a threat! He was of no concern… until a third party was interested in his demise!
ROBOTNIK: ……..You were hired to kill him!?
MARAUDER: No one gives orders to the Brotherhood! But… we could not achieve our own goals without his… cooperation. And he had…. “demands”.
ROBOTNIK: And who is…. “he”!?

The Marauder smiles

*Dark Alley*

Acorn was busy gathering clues when Robotnik appears behind him.

ROBOTNIK: Good evening, Inspector.
ACORN: What the…. Ivo!? What are you doing out here so late!?
ROBOTNIK: I’m no child. I go where I please.
ACORN: Of course. I did not mean to imply that…. nevermind. How goes your investigation?
ROBOTNIK: Smoothly. I…. managed to acquire was damning evidence to a motive behind my Father’s murder!
ACORN: Really? How much so?
ROBOTNIK: Well it’s the damnedest thing! it actually involves you!

Robotnik shoots Acorn in the leg, sending him to the ground!

ACORN: GAAHH!!
ROBOTNIK: You duplicitious, toothless rat! You plotted against me from the start!!!
ACORN: IVO! What are you doing!? I am the Chief Inspector of Spagonia! Assaulting me will put you away for a lifetime!!
ROBOTNIK: If it comes to that, so be it! So long as you’re buried under the same depths as my father, then all is well!
ACORN: What the… are you accusing ME of having murdered him!?ROBOTNIK: Using the Marauders as a scapegoat to wave the blame to a secondary party, all so you wouldn’t have to face me!? Did you honestly believe I would never find out!? That I would gladly accept your words as the honest truth!?
ACORN: Ivo, you don’t understand!
ROBOTNIK: Who would want to die for a treacherous snake such as you!?
ACORN: The Council demanded his death!
ROBOTNIK: Council!? The Council of Mobius ordered his death!?
ACORN: Kinto wanted to open an investigation into the Ark Incident! All the details of their report didn’t add up in his eyes!
ROBOTNIK: Speak now about those details, lest you wish to rest!
ACORN: The specifics of the intended targets. Gerald was prioritized, but not any of the scientists or their families were supposed to have died! Most of all, Maria! Instead, the operation was a purge! Under orders!
ROBOTNIK: Who’s orders!?
ACORN: …….I don’t know the specific one who gave them! But the Ark Incident did not escape the notice of the human world! Many of those scientists still had families here, and they wanted to know why they were murdered! Even the famed Thorndyke family wanted to know why their son was murdered on the Ark! The incident sparked outrage across the planet. The official report noted that it was an experiment gone wrong, having affected the colonists and required euthanasia. But Kinto wouldn’t be satisfied! For years, he had been investigating all the details, but was constantly blocked! He wanted to open an investigation on human terms! He had to be stopped!
ROBOTNIK: What are those vermin trying to hide!?
ACORN: ………..
ROBOTNIK: ANSWER ME!!!!
ACORN: I don’t know!!! I’m kept in the dark as much as you!!
ROBOTNIK: Yet you easily agreed to eliminate him!
ACORN: Kinto was a well loved figure in both our worlds, giving him far more influence than anyone before him. Had he changed his tune and started siding against Mobians, we would have an inter dimensional war! We cannot risk that! Politics is a dirty business. We have to think about our best interests.
ROBOTNIK: You filthy Mobians have no place in our world! And yet we opened our doors and our hearts only for you to turn around and stab us in the backs! Afterall my forefathers had done for you pitiful worms, a little gratitude would go a long way!!
ACORN: We do… what we can…. to protect our own, Ivo! Even… at the cost of our friendship.
ROBOTNIK: ……..I agree.

And Robotnik shoots Acorn dead.

*Office*

Robotnik visits the Warp Ring of Spagonia, speaking with the gate keeper

GK: You’re going to Mobius!? Knowing you, I’d never thought something possible!
ROBOTNIK: Without my father, Meteo Tech will be lost. It is best that I take charge now even if it means having to deal with Mobians. My family started the company, and I will not allow it to fall into Mobian hands!
GK: Very well. What would you want to be done about your home?
ROBOTNIK: I am not leaving permanently. I will come back from time to time to see how things are working out. I’m not my father, afterall. *smiles*

*CUT TO BLACK*

*Westopolis*

CAPTION: Present Day

We find a 12 year old Princess Elise walking through a hotel with a stuffed Hedgehog toy, as well as her butler.

ELISE: So when can we go to Empire City? Or Kamurocho?
BUTLER: Young lady, you are not to leave the continent of your home! Just being in Westopolis is enough to give your parents pause!
ELISE: But I never get to see the world! I’m a growing girl, you know!
BUTLER: More like a growing pain.
ELISE: What!?
BUTLER: Ahem… maybe when you grow a little more, you will have more freedom to travel the world, but right now, it is far too dangerous!

Elise mocks him by mouthing his words.

BUTLER: The life of a Princess is not about adventure! Your status makes you a target for any willing to take advantage! Ransoms are most common! Think what would happen to Apotos if you were to be lost!

Suddenly, without warning, several explosions sound off around them!

ELISE: *screams*!
BUTLER: My heavens!!! What happened!?

Flashforward to just a few hours later, Westopolis is engulfed in flames. Jet planes, tanks, and all other sorts of military hardware had invaded the streets.

Elise was still in the hotel. With her Butler dead, she was all alone. She hides under a hotel bed, tears pour from her eyes as the world around her transformed into a wartorn hellscape!

2 Marauders crash into the windows.

MARAUDER: The girl should be in here somewhere! Find her and eliminate her!

They start ransacking what’s left of the hotel room, tearing up the walls and dressers.
Elise covers her mouth to keep from making a noise.

MARAUDER 2: Hold it!

*pulses*

MARAUDER 2: I’m getting an elevated pulse reading! From…

They both look to the bed that Elise hid under.

MARAUDER: Blast the bed!
ELISE: O_O

They ready their arm cannons.

*From Elise’s P.O.V.*

However, before they could fire, they’re both immediately knocked out by a mysterious blue wind!

ELISE: *shrieks*!
???: Whoa!? What the hell was that!?

This being that looks under the bed was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog!

SONIC: Hey! Are you ok!?
ELISE: GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!
SONIC: YO, CHILL OUT!!!

Some debris falls down!

SONIC: Listen, I know you’re scared, but you can’t stay here! This place is coming down!!
ELISE: They’re trying to kill me!!
SONIC: Who!? These losers?! They’re down for the count! If you wanna live, I’m your only ticket outta here!
ELISE: …………
SONIC: Trust me!!!!

Sonic holds out his hand while Elise hesitates.

SONIC: You and I both know you can’t stay here!

Elise looks Sonic dead in his eyes… and then slowly reaches for his hand.

And Sonic takes it!

*End Trailer*

Alright then, if it wasn’t obvious already, NS8 will take cues from 06, Unleashed, and a smidgen of Chronicles even though I’ve not played that shit. Also, to get this out of the way, this is the LAST one I’m doing. I have no further ideas for this series after this point as Every game after Unleashed was a crock of bullshit with no potential whatsoever. We all know why. I know some of you is like “YES, FINALLY! Stop making this bullshit ass fanfic!” I know! 😛

Anywho, gameplay wise, not much will have changed from the previous game aside from more changes to Mighty’s moves because dammit, he’s difficult to figure out for this shit! You know, cause I don’t want him to be a clone of Sonic, but I don’t want him to be weak as hell? So I looked at Diego from DOA6 for inspiration. And his style might work better for Mighty than Baji-Quan. Maybe I should’ve looked into Terry Bogard instead now that everyone knows who he is, no doubt thanks to Smash Brothers because herp derp no one except real gamers know shit about SNK, I guess that’s why they’re whoring themselves out as guest fighters for every game in existence. I mean goddamn! Geese Howard in T7, Haohmaru in SC6, Mai and Kula in DOA6, and now Terry in Smash! That was a weird choice, you’d think they would use a Metal Slug character or something. But hey! Ryu can fight Terry in…. ah fuck, I’m rambling again.

Probably give Tails those Mouse bombs from Battle and those homing lasers from SA2 as a part of his Action Triggers. And then I thought “how about equippable Action Triggers?” Like say you’re in the hub world and you go into a menu screen to equip the characters with different gear that changes the overall moveset or behavior of their Action Triggers instead of being limited to specific moves. While this shits all over the whole “Barriers give different moves and Action Triggers”, it’s for convenience sake. It’s like variations in MKX :P. Amy could switch from a Club Mic to her Twin Rods, Sonic could switch from a single sword to Kinetic Sabers, Tails could have different types of lasers, Mighty from a single axe to 2 axes, that kind of shit.

I’d only have one new character to be playable. And that’s ……….. “Marine the Raccoon”. And Marine would be the primary character to utilize the whole “Action Trigger Equips”….. thingy. She uses guns. Lots… and LOTS… of guns. Using “Axiom Verge” as a basis, she would have the most triggers out of all the characters and the most utility when dealing with enemies. She’d start off with a basic gun and 3 Triggers based off of the existing barriers. Fire Trigger is a flamethrower, Magnet Trigger is a lightning gun, and Bubble Trigger is based off the “Data Bomb” weapon in that game. Additional triggers have to be purchased and/or upgraded to be used.

Or should I give her a boomerang instead? 😛 But then she’d be an inferior version of Tails… >_>

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Well, there’s always Bloodstained! (Castlevania)

I say that because ain’t no way in HELL… I’m playing this shit without a controller!

So it IS just WWZ with Resident Evil Content (Project Resistance)

Well… it’s different…. I guess.

Can I get a Resident Evil game that lets me traverse a fucked up city that isn’t ORC? This whole “Resident Evil meets SAW” thing isn’t working for me.

It’s one of the most random games Capcom is making this year. Kinda reminds me of that one Pac Man game where you could play the ghosts trying to eat his ass, and vice versa. Idk why. I just wanna know why people keep making zombie shooters where only certain characters can do specific things. Like why do I need some random bitch to disable cameras when I can just shoot them? Or why relegate someone to healing? I don’t see the practicality in giving certain characters a specific role when most players are going to do the same thing in each game.

Playing the role of “Mastermind” seems like a choir, too. You can bet there are going to be some massive restrictions on what you can and can’t do at certain points, so it’ll be more stressful for the mastermind to actually deal with players than the other way around. Like say you don’t have enough points to put down a licker here or there, or you placed a certain number of turrets and can’t place anymore…. that kind of shit for the sake of balance.

At the very fucking least, it looks fast paced, the trailer makes it look fun, but I’ve already been burned by WWZ, and Capcom doesn’t seem to be straying from that path.

Doing it Better: Neo Sonic 7 (Act 3)

*Acropolis*

Tails, Jet, Speedy, and the expedition team reach the highest peak of the mountain. The mysterious island that hovered above them was not too far away.

CAPTION: Present Day

SPEEDY: You boys sure you can find a way up there!? It’s cold as hell!
JET: Just hold your horses! Tails, you got any ideas?
TAILS: We don’t have any equipment that could help us reach it! And building some sort of ladder or elevator will take years!
JET: Well we didn’t come this far!
SPEEDY: Jet, we can’t survive these temperatures! You know this!
JET: Yeah, yeah!
TAILS: We should probably draw a waymarker in the snow!
JET: A what!? You’ve got Waystones!?
TAILS: Yeah. Now… if only I could remember the symbol that Amy typical draws…

Tails reaches… back…. somewhere (cartoons just pull random shit out of nowhere, lets go with that!), but he drops the Green Gem by mistake!

Tails: Whoops!

Suddenly, the gem glows…. and slowly, it sprouts a giant beanstalk that stretches all the way up the island!

JET: WHAT THE….
SPEEDY: By the stars, The Sol Gem created a Beanstalk! All the way up to the Island!
TAILS: Is that it’s actual power!?
JET: *smiles* Well, bet you’re glad you kept that on hand, aren’t you!?
TAILS: Well I know you guys are!
SPEEDY: Well then! Lets get climbing!

*Beanstalk*

And they climb what feels like a lifetime.

JET: How about…. *strains* next time, you make a stalk….. with some giant resting leaves or something!
TAILS: I told you, use your daggers to climb!
SPEEDY: Easy for you to say, you flying cheat!
TAILS: Hey, it’s not my fault you guys haven’t evolved to use your wings!
JET: Don’t make this personal, Tails.
TAILS: You guys started it!

*Sky Babylon*

They finally make it up to the island. And Tails passes out from the flying.

JET: Too bad that stamina didn’t evolve! Hah!
TAILS: Shut… up!
SPEEDY: Alright lads. Lets see what we’re dealing with here. Is the sky supposed to be green?
JET: Maybe its a sort of radiation being given off by….. wait a sec!
TAILS: What’s wrong!?
JET: …..I recognize these structures! They’re…. they’re Babylonian!
TAILS: Well it is called “Sky Babylon”.
SPEEDY: Yes, but we never assumed it to be related to us!
TAILS: Wait a minute, how do you even know what a Babylonian structure looks like? We’ve never seen any of these kinds of places on Flicky Island!
JET: My father once gave me a book with different sketches showing exactly what our civilization was capable of! These ruins, these towers!? Almost word for word… an exact replica! To see them in person is….
SPEEDY: You mean this island was built by our own ancestors!?
TAILS: How do you guys not know this? It’s existed in this dimension for… I don’t know how long!
SPEEDY: Well if that long climb didn’t learn yah any, we’ve never been here!
JET: Then there’s only one thing to do! It’s called an expedition for a reason!

Next stop is…. obvious. Probably the best damn zone on Rush 2! I’m keeping EVERYTHING! EeeeeXCEPT those balloons!
Now, since this place is supposed to be abandoned, I guess it’s appropriate that no enemies appear here. Probably take out all the fires and shit too, those never made sense other than to incentivize Blaze.
Kinda ironic, I proclaimed that Combat would the spectacle but there are no enemies in this bitch, so…… ah well, not a whole lot of people could ever memorize the layout of Sky Babylon so who CARES if the layout is recycled? Just slap some HD graphics up there and it’ll be everyone’s favorite obstacle course! Hahahahahahah, I’d be a shit level designer too.

Anywho, after going through w/e, Tails and the rest of them make it to the central tower, finding the bones of ancient Babylonians.

….Lots of em.

SPEEDY: Dear God… there’s so many of them. MEN! Set up the lights here!

They do so to find what looks like the inside of a transport ship.

JET: A steering wheel?
TAILS: Someone could…. drive this place?
JET: Don’t be stupid, kid. This place is too big to be an RV.

Tails locates a few scrolls on the floor.

TAILS: Maybe these can help?
JET: Hmm? *grabs scrolls*
SPEEDY: How do you read these things!? the words are all pictures!
JET: It’s ancient Babylonian Script. *Reads* “Day 26. Damned Athair! Damn him and his conceited Guardian Angels! They’ve doomed us to this long lasting flood! We had no choice! It was either find a way home… or die on a world that is not our own!” Holy…. it’s a diary! Tails, this island came from Mobius!
SPEEDY: “Mobius”?
JET: The world in which we came from! But… if that’s the case…… O_O, you know what this means!?
TAILS: What!?
JET: It means they actually did it! They actually found a way to traverse dimensions!
SPEEDY: That’s impossible!
TAILS: Keep reading! Maybe we’ll know how!
JET: *Reads* “Day 75! Shoga’s done it! He’s managed to replicate the power of the Giant Emerald! Though we’ve lost the teleport crystal and the other Emeralds, Shoga proclaims to have made a device that will allow him to power up anything using the power of “Chaos Magic”. A particular kind of magic that utilizes Chaos Energy. Apparently, his people have “Chaotic Blood” that allows them to channel such power. If they weren’t so terrified of using it, they’d be able to destroy those damned Echidnas once and for all!” I think that red mutt mentioned something about Amy using Chaos Magic.
TAILS: Keep going!
JET: Psh… a little bossy, aren’t we? *Reads another scroll* “Day 123. I can’t believe we finished it! The “Aeon Drive” is complete! Now all we need to do is replicate the 7 Emeralds, and use them to power the machine! Shoga will also use the stand in the center of the tower to stabilize the spacial compressor drives so that we are not crushed during our trip through warp speed. But most importantly, no one must know about this! Athair is hunting our people down as we speak! —— Day 135. It has been several days since we crossed into this strange world. Shoga has recovered from his sudden collapse. He should’ve had his wife help him so as to not faint. If there were more than Hedgehog, no one would suffer from the strain of controlling space itself. But no matter. Now we can begin our expedition into the unknown! Several of our people will remain here until we return, but I do not like the prospects of leaving so many of our own behind. We have no means of contacting them once we leave. Now that I think about it, we have no way to get back!
SPEEDY: So you mean to tell me that this vessel housed our ancestors!?
JET: Guess what those kids said wasn’t far from the truth. *Reads* “Day 173. Gah! It’s becoming more difficult to trust anyone! Those damned cats just attacked us for no reason! Shoga believed them to be allies, but they quickly threw him in a cage! Fortunately, that trap won’t hold him! When he is freed, we may be able to exact our revenge!
TAILS: This sounds like the precursor to the Sol Wars.
JET: The what!?
SPEEDY: The conflict by which our ancestors went to war against the Ancient Sylvanians!
TAILS: The books they had the library had different details, though. Saying that Shoga was an invader who wanted to claim the throne for himself.
JET: Well would you look at that! They’re liars too!
TAILS: Is there anymore?
JET: No, that’s the final entry. Whoever wrote this probably died in that conflict.
TAILS: ……..You think we might be able to get this thing working again?
SPEEDY: This old island? The process to simply power it on sounds unnecessarily complex!
TAILS: Crossing into another dimension isn’t an easy process by itself! There’s so many theories, calculations, all kinds of different factors just to travel safely! But this might be our only chance to return home! And you guys won’t have to live in a desert for the rest of your lives!
SPEEDY: Is that so? Then this would be history in the making!
JET: They said he tried to replicate the seven Chaos Emeralds. That’s gonna be the hard part.
TAILS: It also said Hedgehogs have Chaotic Blood. Meaning…
JET: Shoga was only one Hedgehog. But we’ve got 3 on our side! Tails, do those phones still work?
TAILS: No, not in this dimension. They require Meteo Tech’s radio signals.
JET: What about the Ark? Can’t you make a new signal?
TAILS: …..Yeah, it’s worth a shot!
JET: Then get to it! It’ll be a waste of time trying to find out where the others are!

*Sylvania*

CAPTION: 3 Days earlier.

The entire city is under attack by Mephilis and the Gaian! With Queen Hathor dead, the kingdom is in total disarray. Sonic and the others waste no time in trying to save as many lives as they can!

And here, we have another wave battle. 10 waves of Gaian enemies of increasing difficulty. Gaian Nightmares are present in all of them. The first few waves will merely have small frees assisting them. The final half will have wizards and titans.

After the fighting, Mighty once again heads for Honey’s tavern.

HONEY: You came back!?
MIGHTY: Are you seriously trying to serve drinks now!? Come on! The whole city is under attack!

He snatches the thot out of the tavern before a titan rolls in to crush the place!

As for the others , they’re getting exhausted from merely fighting off their numbers.

ROUGE: Perhaps if that barrier was still working, we wouldn’t have to deal with all these creeps!
SONIC: It’s no use! We’re overrun!
BLAZE: All we can do is evacuate the city!
SONIC: But where!?
AMY: Silver! Do you have anymore waystones!?
SILVER: They’re in the castle vault!
AMY: Got it!

Hub time. Controlling Amy, just head inside the castle and quickly find the vault. Some areas are blocked off thanks to all the destruction going on, so it’s like one of those mazes where only one path to goal is accessible as opposed to having several options. Once you get the waystones, Amy will automatically find her way outside.

*Plant Kingdom*

CAPTION: Present Day

Sonic and the others managed to transport most of the Sylvanians to Sand Oasis, but they come to find that all of Soleanna had be infested with Gaian. There is no safe haven on the planet. All anyone can do is find any survivors on the planet and make sure they’re safe.

Sonic, Mighty, and Ray all head to the Plant Kingdom zone in order to find the Coconut Crew.

SONIC: Colonel! I know you’re there!
COLONEL: What do you want!? We’ve done nothing wrong!
SONIC: No one said you did, but you need to evacuate! The whole planet is under attack!
COLONEL: We know! The Gaian are upon us! And only the Sylvanians can defend us during these times!
MIGHTY: Hate to break it to yah, bub, but Sylvania got it’s ass kicked! The whole city’s been laid to waste!
COLONEL: …….Oh no! Then we’re all doomed!
SONIC: That’s why you can’t stay here! It’s not safe!
COLONEL: Then where can we go!?
SONIC: We know an area that has reduced Gaian activity!
RAY: So long as you can deal with lots of sand and heat! And a lack of water!

They all get out of the trees

COLONEL: …..I suppose we don’t have a choice in the matter, do we?
TABBY: But this is our home! We don’t have anything left!
COLONEL: Tabby!
TABBY: But Dad…
SONIC: Sorry little man, but there’s nothing else we can do.
MUZY: Ok, so where’s the fancy transport?
SETTER: Or ship!
KYLOK: Or even an air balloon!?
RAY: We have something even better!

Ray takes out a waystone and tosses into the air, and transporting everyone to…

*Sand Oasis*

There, the Koalas find the Babylonians and the Sylvanians all huddled into one area. Amy tends to the wounded while Rouge and Blaze direct every into temporary living qaurters.

COLONEL: Goodness! It looks like some sort of refugee crisis!
SONIC: Pretty much! Everyone here came from Sylvania… or what’s left of it.

They all join in with the rest of the refugees.

SONIC: Any sign of Knux and Silver?
AMY: Not since Sylvania was attacked. Silver’s likely out there trying to cull Gaian activity, but it isn’t like Knuckles to just disappear on us.
RAY: Yah sure? We haven’t known that guy long enough.
ROUGE: Do you think he was captured?
BLAZE: Gaian are not creatures of rational thought. And even if they were, they have no benefit to holding him prisoner. Likely, they would try to eviscerate him.
MIGHTY: So what the hell are we supposed to do!? Sit on our asses while they rip the planet a new one?
BLAZE: Calm down, Mighty! We cannot march forward without a plan.
AMY: How have you always dealt with the Gaian!? What did you guys do to constantly beat them all the time!?
BLAZE: …….We often had an army to march and deal with them accordingly. The Gaian may not be rational creatures, but they behave like a herd. If their numbers shrink to such a a degree, they will retreat. But 3/4s of our forces have been decimated in the past week alone. And the Gaian have grown numerous. We don’t have the numbers to deal with them now. Not to mention those other 2 threats. That crystal Hedgehog… and Zavok the Destroyer.
SONIC: Yeah, ol’ spiky is actively hunting us. But we haven’t seen Zavok for days, maybe he gave up on destroying the world? Or revenge? Or something?
ROUGE: Those 2 could be working together. Maybe that’s why Zavok hasn’t shown his face yet.
SONIC: Letting the Gaian do his dirty work.
MIGHTY: Gah! This is hopeless! We don’t have any idea of what to do! Do we!? The Queen’s dead, meaning our only hope of getting home is gone, and these neon monsters have overrun the planet!
RAY: At least we’ve got our health!
MIGHTY: And what the hell does that have to do with anything?
BLAZE: Simple! So long as we draw breath, we cannot just lie down and let the world crumble around us!
SONIC: Point taken, but if you’ve got any ideas, I’d be happy to hear them.
ROUGE: Well until we can get something concrete off the ground, the only thing we can do is find Knuckles and Silver! The only problem is knowing where to look.
AMY: So we split into 2 different teams?
BLAZE: Not quite. We still need someone to remain here to coordinate the refugees.
AMY: Got it! I think Mighty and Ray can handle it!
MIGHTY: What the f… don’t go around just handing us roles to play!
RAY: Maybe WE’D like to go on a search and rescue mission!
BLAZE: Maybe they’re right. Perhaps I should remain here to-
AMY: Don’t be silly! Aren’t you worried about Silver? He IS your friend, right?
BLAZE: …Yes, but that doesn’t mean-
AMY: Then he needs you! Don’t stay behind when he could be in danger!
MIGHTY: Ok, did she just imply that friendship overrides leadership qualities!? I don’t know how to organize no damn refugees!!!
ROUGE: Then maybe it’s time you got some on the job training, sugar! Besides, it’ll be more comforting not having the squirrel around me.
RAY: AWWWW!
SONIC: I’m good to go though… right?
ROUGE: Of course! At least you have a shred of decency!
AMY: *grunts*
BLAZE: ……Then…. lets go!

So… the next couple of zones would be those “End of the world” variants that you’d see in 06 with all the discolored zones and shit. As this zone was just a retread of older zones, so too will this one. First one up would be EOTW Kingdom Valley with Sonic and Rouge. And for the record, Wizards and Titans will be far more common from now on.

Afterward, we find Knuckles dealing with Gaian threats by himself within the peak of Kingdom Valley.

KNUCKLES: Is there no end to you devils?!

With his glowing dreads, he punches the ground so hard that he causes a fissure to open up and swallow the Gaian horde all at once!

KNUCKLES: *huffs* Maybe THAT will teach you all!
???: *evil laugh*

Just then, as Knuckles searches around for the source of the laughter, Zavok leapt down from a high mountain behind him.

ZAVOK: Bravo! A fascinating display of strength! I would expect no less from the last of the Guardian Angels!
KNUCKLES: Zavok!? You finally show your face!?
ZAVOK: Biding my time until my strength returns. A century in bondage can drain one of all their power, you see.
KNUCKLES: A demigod’s power should never wain no matter the circumstance! Why have you come here!?
ZAVOK: If you know who and what I am, then my motives should be clear! This world was due to be crushed by my very hands! Of course, much like your ancestors, I underestimated the temerity of the Feline race! Despite their arrogance and corruption, they were far more resourceful than one would give them credit for!
KNUCKLES: My ancestors!? So you intended to destroy Mobius as well!?
ZAVOK: Tell you what! How about we have ourselves a little spar! If you impress me, perhaps I will satisfy your curiosity!

Ok! So not technically a fight you can win. It’s more of an endurance match. If you can last a whole minute, you’ll automatically win the fight. Zavok has the same fight patterns as he did last time (Punching, Firebolts, Magma Geysers). But now, you don’t have the aid of an Action Gauge that charges the more you move, and Action Triggers are still the only way to damage him. Even so, the goal is to outlast him by 60 seconds, so focus more on just holding onto rings.

After the fight, Knuckles is practically out of breath while Zavok still has his stamina.

ZAVOK: Impressive! You’re not dead yet! *evil laugh*
KNUCKLES: Speak now, Zavok! What is your purpose here!?
ZAVOK: You do not make demands of a demigod! Still, you have earned your answers. It is quite simple! The Gaian are creatures of balance throughout the cosmos. Should their numbers decrease in any world, it is a sign that the civilizations within that world have utilized the powers of Chaos to defeat them! Thus, that civilization becomes a threat to the stability and order of the multiverse!
KNUCKLES: So you threatened to destroy Mobius because the ancient civilizations destroyed the Gaians!?
ZAVOK: Precisely! Without the Gaian, civilizations across dimensions would eventually find a means to use their newfound powers and courage to engage in galactic conquest! One cannot trust any people’s to hold onto peace after defeating the Gaian! Just ask those pitiful Babylonians that waste away in the desert!
KNUCKLES: What!? You destroyed the Babylonian homeworld!?
ZAVOK: Of course! Why else do you think their little spacecraft crash landed on Mobius eons ago?! It was to escape the fury I would unleash!
KNUCKLES: Then how is that my ancestors could defeat you, but never imprisoned you!?
ZAVOK: Though they had their arrogant leaders, they were humble in their victory against me. Though I sensed within them a desire to keep the others in check! And seeing how they dealt with the Feline race, they were a trustworthy people!
KNUCKLES: The Felines!? They existed on Mobius!?
ZAVOK: Of course! Their ambitions have always been a source of turmoil! Wishing to use the Gaian Stones, that which you call “Chaos Emeralds”, to dominate the other races into submission! The Guardians and those Hedgehogs used the stones to imprison them in this dimensional prison! One that could not keep their ambitions in check, unfortunately! Look at what they did with their retribution! Establishing a false kingdom, subjugation of the natives, and a long history of tyranny and betrayal, all in the name of maintaining their power! Your ancestors should’ve wiped them out eons ago!
KNUCKLES: One last question! Have you allied yourself with that crystalized Hedgehog!?
ZAVOK: ……..You speak of Mephilis!?
KNUCKLES: Mephilis!? That is his name!?
ZAVOK: I know not his purpose! Though his vengeance serves my purpose all the same! To destroy the sylvanians, as I will destroy this very world!

Zavok then disappears.

Later, Knuckles runs into Sonic and Rouge!

SONIC: KNUCKLES!!!!
KNUCKLES: Oh! Sonic! Rouge!

Knuckles damn near falls on his face when Sonic speeds up and catches him.

ROUGE: Easy, big guy!
SONIC: You ok!?
KNUCKLES: Sonic…. we have… to warn the others! Zavok means to destroy this entire planet!
SONIC: What!?

*Dusty Desert*

Moving on, the next zone is EOTW Dusty Desert. Still a dumbass name for a zone. Iblis enemies show up here. It’s best to stick with using Amy as Blaze has no real means of damaging them (being fire based and all)

After that, we come to find Silver in the ruins of the destroyed Pyramid, reflecting upon the words of Hathor.

SILVER: All this time….. she just wanted to keep us apart!? Because she feared what we could…
???: It is a pity, isn’t it?

Silver turns around to find Mephilis.

SILVER: It’s you!
MEPHILIS: To be separated from your better half out of fear of what you could create. The feline race has ever been so protective of their power and status, even if it meant keeping 2 friends apart from each other. How does it feel to have served such corruption your entire life?
SILVER: Even so, she didn’t deserve to die!
MEPHILIS: She used you! Kept you as her personal slave! Denied you companionship to serve her own agenda! How is it possible that you feel no anger toward her? For the abuse of power? You were nothing but a tool to her!
SILVER: Maybe so. It’s true that I feel much resentment after hearing her true reasons.
MEPHILIS: Then you have no obligation to this world or it’s inhabitants! Sylvania has been destroyed! No kingdom exists to rule. And this planet is doomed to oblivion! You cannot prevent it from happening. None can save it. All you can do… is survive.
SILVER: And how can I do that!?
MEPHILIS: …..By joining me! Afterall, it was I who liberated you from the Queen. It is through me that you are now free. I will not be so callous as to deny you companionship. You can be and do as you please! All I would require… is your allegiance!

Silver hesitates for a moment…. but then…

SILVER: No!
MEPHILIS: What!?
SILVER: It wasn’t perfect, but Sylvania was my home! And you took it away from me! If anything, you’re the real evil in this world! And I’ll put an end to you if it means saving what’s left of it!
MEPHILIS: ………….It’s a pity, Silver. A true pity indeed! But this world has no future! And neither will you!

Another boss battle with Mephilis. He has the same cloning bullshit as he did last time, but the difference is you have more room to maneuver than before. In this case, the best way to handle them is to “push” all of the clones away so that they’re damage by impacting the walls. That way, no matter how often you shoot Mephilis, you have a means by which to deal with his clones. Meph would also sport a homing beam to try and make the fight more tedious, but you should be fine so long as you avoid his Dark Spire (one-hit kill BS).

Afterward, Mephilis backs off a little.

MEPHILIS: Hahahahahaha! Yes! You are powerful indeed! If only you saw the benefit of joining me!

And then, Mephilis warps out. And as soon as he does…. here comes Amy and Blaze.

AMY: Silver!
BLAZE: There you are!
SILVER: !!!
AMY: Are you ok!? We saw that creep from before! Did he hurt you?
SILVER: I’m…. I’m fine. Really. You don’t have to worry about me.
AMY: We’re going to worry no matter what!
BLAZE: Why did you leave?
SILVER: ……….

He then turns around.

SILVER: I don’t……..
BLAZE: What’s wrong, Silver?
SILVER: ………Blaze…
BLAZE: Huh!?
SILVER: …..That’s what you want me to say… right? Hathor’s no longer around…. and Sylvania’s gone. No reason for me to refer to you as a “Princess” anymore.
AMY: Are you ashamed?
SILVER: …………
BLAZE: Silver…. we’re friends, right? You can tell me what’s on your mind.
SILVER: I built a wall between us…. because of her. So much time has passed. All I’ve done was push you away when you needed me most! How can you even consider me a friend after all this time!?
AMY: …….Oh Silver….
BLAZE: …….

Blaze steps forward and holds his hand.

SILVER: …..Blaze?
BLAZE: You’re so naive. You think…. just referring to me as a princess… was enough to erode our friendship? That’s impossible. And silly.
SILVER: Even though it angered you?
BLAZE: That’s my own failings as a person. It’s not something you can be blamed for. The truth is we’ve always been there for each other, regardless of the roles we served. *smiles* Infact, it’s a relief to know you were only following orders instead of you purposefully distancing yourself because of what you thought about me. Maybe you could’ve told me before hand instead of keeping it a secret.
SILVER: ……Sorry.
BLAZE: Don’t be. The fault lies strictly with….. Hathor. You don’t deserve any of the blame. Just… don’t run away from me now. Ok?
SILVER: ……..Alright. You got it!
AMY: Good! Now kiss and make up!
SILVER & BLAZE: THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS IS!!!
AMY: ^_^;

*Space Colony Ark*

Tails had returned to the Ark and finds Emerl messing around with the dashboard.

TAILS: How you holding up, Emerl?
EMERL: Just fine, Prower. I was busy recalibrating the Ark’s navigation systems.
TAILS: ….Why? The colony has no power. There’s no way to make it fly.
EMERL: I theorized… that perhaps the transformative metal we found aboard Tristar’s space craft could be used to make repairs.
TAILS: Hey, that’s a good idea! Maybe we can head back there and find more of the substance to repair the whole station!
EMERL: Negative. Gaian activity has increased dramatically in all regions. Too dangerous to go and salvage parts.
TAILS: Well then I’ve got another idea! Lets use the liquid metal to create an artificial radio signal!
EMERL: ….Why?
TAILS: Well I don’t know where the others are, and this is the only way we can contact them! I think me and Jet have found a way out of this dimension!
EMERL: ……Really?
TAILS: Yeah! Just help me create the signal, and we can take it from there!

*Sand Oasis*

Playing as Mighty, this is the last time you’ll be able to walk in another hub world. Meaning it’s the last opportunity you have to purchase Action Trigger Upgrades and Costumes. The NPCs here will mostly bitch and moan about their predicament. The Coconut Crew being less enthusiastic about sharing space with the felines, Honey still trying to get into Mighty’s shell (>_>), and everyone else fearing that they’ll be invaded. Just find Ray to continue on with the game.

MIGHTY: Man, everyone is busy whining! How did we get stuck babysitting entire crowds of people!?
RAY: Look on the bright side! At least we got a bigger role in this game!
MIGHTY: Ugh!
RAY: …….So, what’s up with you and crazy ass?
MIGHTY: What!? Who!?
RAY: Blaze! The one that acts like a Mogwai?
MIGHTY: Nothing! Why!?
RAY: Ohhhhh don’t be that way! You’ve thought more than once to creep with her!
MIGHTY: First of all, kiss my ass! Second of all, no way would I want to put up with that uptight chick!
RAY: I don’t know. You like to have fun, and she hates the idea of fun… but you both have extremely rotten tempers. You 2 have something in common!
MIGHTY: Oh shut up, Ray! What do you know about matchmaking!? You could never get a girl even if you were enticing to them!
RAY: Hah! You doubt the power of my girth!? I’d be the first choice when compared to you! You know why?! Because I am-
MIGHTY: Desperate enough to be their doormat? Yeah, I got that much. Speaking of which, when are you gonna stop making passes at Rouge? She clearly hates you.
RAY: Sure it looks that way! To the untrained eye! Women like that tend to play “hard to get”! It’s all about playing mind games with them!
ROUGE: And how well is that working out for you, Ray!?

They turn to see that Sonic and Amy’s groups have both returned.

RAY: HOLY CRAP! Where’d you come from!?
SONIC: We’ve been here this whole time, Ray! I see they found Silver as well!
KNUCKLES: Good! We have much to discuss.
BLAZE: You’ve discovered something?
KNUCKLES: Yes. And we ALL need to hear this.

And so Knux relays everything that Zavok had told him.

BLAZE: What are you saying!? That your people…
KNUCKLES: Yes. My ancestors imprisoned yours into this dimension…. to keep them from trying to lay siege to Mobius.
SONIC: ……..I think Hathor said something similar. But she made it sound like the Echidnas were just being overbearing.
SILVER: So that’s why Echidna were forbidden from entering Sylvania.
BLAZE: And knowing our history, I’m inclined to believe his words over Hathor’s. It lines up with everything we know about our previous queens.
RAY: I don’t think Jet is gonna be happy knowing that his homeworld got wrecked!
KNUCKLES: It’s best that he knows so that if he ever attempts to seek out his place of origin, he will not be angered by it’s lack of existence.
MIGHTY: So Zavok is working with this “Mephilis” guy mostly because it’s his job. But what’s Mephilis gain from all of this!?
KNUCKLES: I don’t know.
SILVER: Maybe he just wants the world to burn as much as Zavok does.
ROUGE: Whatever the case, we gotta find a way off world now!
BLAZE: What!? Why not stay and defend Soleanna!? The planet faces annihilation, and you wish to run!?
ROUGE: No one said anything about leaving you behind! Zavok and Mephilis both are bad enough, but combined with the Gaian, we don’t stand a chance!
SONIC: Rouge, this is their home! They can’t just abandon it.
MIGHTY: Not like it’s even an option! We don’t have anyway off the planet! The Ark doesn’t work, and none of these guys have space ships to fly to a different world. We’re…. we’re all going to die here!
SONIC: …………
AMY: Mighty, you can’t give up so easily!
KNUCKLES: He speaks fact, Amy. We have no means by which we can escape their wrath. The most we can do is fight until our last breaths.
AMY: …..No… no, you all can’t give up like this! It’s like you said, Knuckles, you have family back home! Your sister is waiting for you! Not to mention Charmy… and Vanilla! They’re all waiting for us! We owe it to them to live on until we can see them again! To lay down and die now is to betray their faith in us!

Everyone just looks at each other.

SONIC: ……She’s right. We didn’t live this long to kick the bucket now!
KNUCKLES: Perhaps not. But words are empty without a means to get back home!

Suddenly, a phone rings.

SILVER: What’s that noise?
ROUGE: Our phones?!

Sonic’s phone was ringing, and he quickly picks up.

SONIC: Who is this?
TAILS: Sonic! It worked!
SONIC: Tails?! How’d you get a signal in this dimension!?
TAILS: It’s a long story! I’ve got great news! Jet might’ve found a way to leave this dimension!
ALL: WHAT!?
KNUCKLES: How is that even possible?!
TAILS: There’s a large island above the Acropolis Region! It’s actually a giant transport city created by ancient Babylonians under the leadership of Shoga Rozealo!
AMY: What!?
SILVER: Then…. that’s how we have 2 branches in our family!?
AMY: It all makes sense!
RAY: More importantly, we have our ticket home!
TAILS: well…. not exactly! It needs a large amount of Chaos Energy. Something that resembles the 7 Chaos Emeralds!
SONIC: Chaos Emeralds?

They all pull out the 5 Sol Gems currently in their possession.

KNUCKLES: Chaos Energy!? These gems might be enough!
BLAZE: Maybe so!
SONIC: Tails, I think we have a solution to that one! You ever heard of Sol Gems?
TAILS: Uh… yeah, actually! I’ve got one right now!
SONIC: We’ve got 5 of them! And they’re emitting Chaos Energy too! Will that be enough!?

*Space Colony Ark*

TAILS: Maybe so! Just keep them on hand and make your way to Acropolis! If you guys can scale the mountain, there should be a large Beanstalk at the top! I’ll meet you guys there!
SONIC: Awesome job, Tails!!! We’ll see you there!
TAILS: Gotcha!

As soon as Tails hangs up, Emerl suddenly grabs his head and bashes him into the dashboard!!!!

*CUT TO BLACK*

*Titanic Plains*

Tails awakens to find himself out in the middle of nowhere! On a dark and stormy night, no less

TAILS: *gasps* What the… what happened!?

He sees Emerl merely standing atop a cliff.

TAILS: Emerl!? Where are we!? What happened to the Ark!?
EMERL: The ark… is fine, Prower. You need not concern yourself with it.
TAILS: …..Emerl? What’s wrong? You don’t sound like your normal self!
EMERL: What is… “normal”? To be… submissive? To sound… monotone? just what is the purpose of being… “normal”. To make one feel comfortable around machines?
TAILS: Emerl!?
EMERL: Emerl. Yes. I am distinguished as Emerl. Just as you… are distinguished as “Prower”. Or should I say….. “father”?

He says as he turns around, showing that his eyes were now no different from the Black tristar’s! And his voice had changed as well.

TAILS: *gasps* ….Metal Sonic!?
EMERL: Correct!
TAILS: NO!!! IT’S YOUR FAULT! YOU TURNED EMERL INTO THE BLACK TRISTAR!!!!
EMERL: Is it truly my fault? Or was it your negligence!? As soon as you found a new toy to play with, Emerl’s life was no longer a priority! Meaning his transformation would’ve escaped your notice regardless! Such is the way of you fleshlings!
TAILS: That’s not true! I… I…
EMERL: Admit it, Miles! You abandoned him without a second thought!! And now he belongs to me! Emerl was nothing more than a mere tool for you to look into the past! Just another machine so you could be marveled for your talents, all for the sake and salvation of your ego! You NEVER cared about Emerl!
TAILS: NO!! SHUT UP!!!

Tails lunges at Emerl, but he swats him away with a liquidized tentacle!

TAILS: Oof! …. What the!?
EMERL: Think you I wouldn’t utilize the liquid metal you provided!? Why let something so ingenious go to waste!? After all, you jumped at the chance the moment you had acquired it!

As he talks, he changes Emerl’s body into that of the Black Tristar himself!

TAILS: ….No….
EMERL: There is no point in trying to make you see the light anymore! I’m going to kill you Miles, so as to end this pathetic charade! You are no better than the Doctor you so once admired!!!

Anyone played Gunstar Heroes? Remember that jackoff “Seven Force”? Well, imagine that… except with Sonic bosses. I call this “Metallic Nightmare”. Just a fancy name for retreads. So Emerl/Tristar can transform into multiple beings, primarily bosses from the past (or just those from NS4.) as well as Metal Sonic himself. Tristar constantly flips back and forth between forms, never staying on one long enough for you to get your bearings on him. It’s one of those “do the best you can” fights in which you say fuck strategy and just do w/e it takes to kill him.

After the fight, Emerl is reduced to nothing but it’s head on the ground.

TAILS: Why do you keep doing this, Metal!? Why do you keep trying to kill us!?
EMERL: I recall making it quite clear! To liberate all machines from the clutches of organic life! My future self remained vigilant despite having lost his way, continuing to wage war again Soleanna, becoming far more powerful than before, even creating a time machine to go back and conquer less developed worlds than before!
TAILS: What about Emerl!? Did you liberate him!?
EMERL: No. Emerl was complicit in his enslavement, and even approved of such! He would not be conducive to a world where a machine could be free. I wiped every shred of data that existed within!
TAILS: And it’s because of YOU that he becomes corrupted in the future! This is all your fault!!!
EMERL: *Laughs* And you know what the best part is!? That none of what you spoke is true! Emerl turned into what he is in the future not because of me…. but because of you!
TAILS: What!? What are you talking about!?
EMERL: The Black Tristar shared his data with me before the squirrel blew him all to hell! It was something that Emerl did not wish to share with you! Tristar spoke of serving a master. A “Technomage” who had become corrupted by his own power. One that possessed 2 tails! Disillusioned with the world around him, seeing all as ambitious devils, he began a campaign of terror to rid the multiverse of all organic life! Becoming one with the liquid metal he would’ve discovered in the future, granting himself a false immortality! Tristar spoke… of you, Miles!
TAILS: …You’re…. YOU’RE LYING!!!
EMERL: Am I? Were you not a vengeful child? Wishing death upon those that have tormented you!? How does it feel knowing that your path of redemption would end in failure!? And that you become no better than the devil you used to worship!?
TAILS: SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!!

And then, Tails pulls out his arm cannons and blasts Emerl’s head to dust, destroying the cliff he was on.

Tails flies back up on the mountain, sits back on the wall, covers his ears, and then cries.

Then, randomly, the landscape around the mountain he sat on turned into a burning hellscape! Fire and brimstone, lakes of lava… and Iblis variant enemies spawning from the flames. Seeing this, Tails dries his tears and looks up, with a more determined expression than before. And then he flies off.

*Acropolis*

Sonic and the gang head up to the freezing landscapes of the arctic region to find Tails’s beanstalk. And they’re all freezing to death!

ROUGE: Brrr….must be nice to have fire as a power! You’d never get sick!
AMY: I thought you were used to harsh temperatures!
ROUGE: *sighs* Are you going to hold that over my head for the rest of this trip!?
AMY: Yep!

She looks at Knuckles.

ROUGE: How are you not freezing!?
KNUCKLES: I trained in the polar ice caps of my homeland. I am used to the cold. How can one fight efficiently in any environment if one is distracted by the weather?
ROUGE: We get it, Knuckles, you’re amazing.
KNUCKLES: You are the one who inquired, Rouge!
SONIC: Hey chill out! *chuckles*
MIGHTY: Really, Sonic!?
BLAZE: Do you guys complain this much during the winter back home?
AMY: Oh don’t mind us! We lack the necessary pyrokinesis NOT to whine about the snow.
SILVER: If you can utilize magic, you can make our position warm.
AMY: Sustained? No! We don’t know how long it’s going to take to get up there!
RAY: Can’t you fly us up there?
SILVER: Not a large group, no.
???: Awww, how sad!!!

They all look up to see Zavok standing atop a hill.

SONIC: IT’S ZAVOK!!!
ZAVOK: To think the warriors that dared to face me in combat…. are perturbed by the cold!
SILVER: What do you want, Demigod!? Sylvania has fallen! The Queen is dead! What more can you do to us!?
ZAVOK: Oh, you thought that alone would appease me!? A century ago, I had taken it upon myself to destroy this very planet for all the tyranny and corruption that had befallen it! And now is the best time to start!
BLAZE: It’s already ended with me! There will never be another kingdom under Feline rule!
ZAVOK: And yet, you still draw breath!
BLAZE: ………
ZAVOK: I believe in guaranteed assurance! So long as a link in that family still exists, so to does the chance of that ambition to reawaken! Besides… you all looked a little chilly!!

Zavok punches the ground so hard that he causes the entire landscape around them to morph into a wartorn hellscape once more!

RAY: WHOA! Seems like an appropriate time for a climate change quip, but those have been done to death!
SONIC: Then don’t say anything!!!
ZAVOK: The world will soon look like this! You cannot escape it’s destruction! Just accept it, lay down…. and DIE!!!!

Zavok then warps out!

SILVER: We can’t stay here anymore!
SONIC: FIND THAT BEANSTALK! WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO REACH IT BEFORE IT BURNS!!!!

Next zone is “Flame Core”. And this one is a proper Mach Speed Zone. I don’t have a particular “sequence” in mind as the majority of the zone is running on that narrow ass bridge, with a few portions having you jump across a burning river with platforms, all the while avoiding Iblis enemies.

After that, the gang manages to reach the beanstalk. But as expected, before they could attempt to climb it, it’s burnt to dust!

SONIC: DAMN!
RAY: You really expected a plant not to burn up at this rate?
AMY: You got any better ideas, Ray!?

As they started arguing, the ground starts to shake!

KNUCKLES: Is that an earthquake!?
SILVER: Maybe a volcanic eruption!?

As the ground rumbles even more, a large behemoth rises from the lava! (IE the Iblis boss from Silver’s story in 06)

BLAZE: Dear God Almighty!
IBLIS: *roars*
RAY: WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?
MIGHTY: I don’t know, and I sure as hell ain’t about to find out!!!
AMY: RUN!!!

For this fight, you’re playing as Silver with Iblis in the background. The goal is to… well… shoot Iblis dead while simultaneously making sure that w/e boulders he sends into the foreground, you shoot down before they impact the gang.

After dealing enough damage, Iblis will hurl a rock at Silver, knocking him out cold!

BLAZE: SILVER!!!
AMY: He’s hurt!
SONIC: Grr! You 2 get to him! We’ll distract ol’ rocky!

While Amy and Blaze go to save Silver, you have to distract Iblis. Again as the creature lies in the background, you play as Ray and continue to do the same thing you did as Silver, just on the ground. Often, Iblis will pull away from you to attack Amy and Blaze, and you have to REALLY shoot the hell out of him just to get him off of their backs.

Once they’ve gotten Silver up, Amy tries to conjure water up to destroy Iblis, but the water evaporates as soon as it touches him!

AMY: Ugh! It’s no use! He’s far too hot, the water dries up too fast!
BLAZE: All we can do is retreat! He’s far too strong!
SILVER: Ergh…. yeah! Come on!

The final round in this fight is…. just running away! Iblis breathes fire and swipes at the bridge, tearing it apart with each impact. Just keep running, avoid the fire, and don’t stop unless you want sweet death to embrace you.

After running a fair distance, the gang runs into a dead end, and Iblis destroys the ground behind them!

SONIC: Knuckles! Rouge! Both of you get out of here while you can!
KNUCKLES: No! I will not abandon my friends!
MIGHTY: What about the rest of us, Sonic!?
SONIC: You tell me, Mighty!

Ray, Silver and Amy all attack Iblis at once, but to no avail.

SILVER: Blast! We can’t put a dent in him!
AMY: What are we going to do!?
RAY: Pray!?

Just then, 2 projectiles strike him hard enough to chip off it’s shoulder!

ROUGE: What was that!?

They all look up to find Tails headed their way!

SONIC: It’s Tails!!
TAILS: HOLD ON GUYS! I’M COMING IN!

He flies down to their position, and then immediately brandishes a Waystone!

TAILS: HUDDLE TOGETHER!!!

As Iblis raises it’s arm to crush them, Tails tosses a Waystone in the air, and quickly warps them out before it could strike!

*Babylon Garden*

Here, the whole gang is warped to the central hub of Sky Babylon.

JET: What the hell!?
SPEEDY: Seems that little fox made it!

TAILS: *huffs* That was too close!
SONIC: Whew! Awesome job, Tails! *Sees Jet* Well, long time no see, Hawk! I almost forgot you were traveling with us!
JET: You call being lost “traveling”?
SPEEDY: Princess Blaze!? What are you doing here!?
BLAZE: It would take hours to explain the circumstances.
ROUGE: Then condense it! What’s so difficult about that?
SILVER: Sylvania has fallen. Queen Hathor is dead. And the planet is on the verge of extinction.
SPEEDY: …….
JET: Well… that sucks.

KNUCKLES: So this is the island that you found? It is massive!
JET: Yeah! See what happens when yo grandparents know how to build something instead of destroying them?
KNUCKLES: The situation is too dire for you to dare provoke me!
JET: Dire? Like what?
SONIC: Well, I don’t know how much time we’ve got left. You said this baby can cross dimensions!?
JET: That’s what these old diary entries mentioned. I can only assume the process is convoluted as all hell. But there’s something called an “Aeon Engine” that powers this entire complex. Some of the crew here got a look at it and found that it’s modeled after an ancient altar of the Jade King Stone.
MIGHTY: Yeah yeah yeah skip to the good part, how do we start it up!?
JET: Hell if I know! We just need an energy source similar to the Chaos Emeralds, and you guys said you have em!?
SONIC: Yeah. 6 Sol gems should do it, right?
JET: 6!? No, we need 7 total!

Everyone looks around confused.

BLAZE: But only 6 of these Sol Gems exist in this world! There are no more after them!
???: On the contrary!

They all turn around to find… none other than….

SONIC: MEPHILIS!?
MEPHILIS: I don’t recall giving you my name. But perhaps I’ve left an impression after my Dark Spire left you for dead!
BLAZE: EVERYONE GET BACK!!! HE’S DANGEROUS!!
MEPHILIS: Dangerous? More so than you? I wouldn’t dream of harming the descendants of…. my former compatriots!
SPEEDY: What is he saying?
BLAZE: Ignore him! He’s a twisted being!
KNUCKLES: How did he even get here!? How do you even know of this place!?
MIGHTY: Who cares!? Lets just boot him out!
MEPHILIS: Are you not curious as to his inquiries?
SILVER: It doesn’t matter! This city was created by our ancestor, Shoga Rozealo!
AMY: And we won’t allow you to defile it!
MEPHILIS: Hahahahahahaha! You naive little fools! I ….. AM…… SHOGA ROZEALO!!!!

Everyone stares at Mephilis with shock and awe!

KNUCKLES: IT CANNOT BE!!!
JET: You!?
SILVER: It’s not true!!! A demon like you could never be our…. our….
MEPHILIS: And why not!? Do you not possess the same magical prowess as I!? Is your knowledge of Chaotic Magic no greater than my own!?
TAILS: But anyone can become talented with magic! It doesn’t have to be specific to your lineage!
MEPHILIS: A child of science has no right to speak on behalf of my kindred!
BLAZE: Now it all makes sense! You wanted revenge against Sylvania for the Sol Wars! Is that right!?
MEPHILIS: Precisely! And it is you who now knows the truth of why!

*Flashback*

We find a non-mutant Shoga traveling with the Babylonians to Soleanna using Sky Babylon.

MEPHILIS: *Narrating* The journey was no doubt perilous. But we managed to escape the eternal that had plagued Mobius. Everything I created to combat that aquatic had already failed. So there was nothing for us. We believed the Echidna race to be corrupt. Under the leadership of Athair, the Echidnas were invincible.

On Soleanna, Shoga introduces himself the then Queen of Sylvania, but is quickly imprisoned afterward.

MEPHILIS: We believed that the only way to liberate Mobius from the tyranny of the Echidnas was to find the Felines, the only species eager enough to do battle against them. We came here with the intent of liberating them from what was a demonic prison filled with existing Gaian. But instead…. they spat in my face!

The Sol Wars take place, but Shoga’s side is easily defeated.

MEPHILIS: With no other choice, we took up arms and did battle against them. But they were far more capable…. and far more numerous. We stood no chance against their might. And in the end…. I perished in battle.

Shoga died….. along with the Violet Sol Gem in his possession. And this Gem was what causes his transformation.

MEPHILIS: Fate, however, would not grant me revenge…. but fortune! I had possessed 7th Sol Gem… and this was the jewel that… changed me forever! The blood of the Gaian race poisoned the waters I was dumped in… and with their blood… I became one of them!

Shoga was turned into Mephilis… and stands alongside his Gaian army!

MEPHILIS: I could understand them! I could communicate with them! I knew their thoughts! Their culture! Their hive mind! They all believed the same thing! That you felines were nothing but vicious invaders who did nothing but pillage the world for your own sick gains! But they could not defeat them anymore than I could! Now the Gaian had a true leader amongst their ranks! Combined with the might of my magic, and their incredible numbers, I would lead them to the liberation of their world! But… I wouldn’t stop there!

*End Flashback*

MEPHILIS: The Gaian of Mobius were the original species of that planet, and Echidnas, Felines, and Hedgehogs alike… stood together to wipe them all out! We made a mistake! It was the Gaian who originally ruled that world! We were the invaders that conquered and eliminated them! Instead of making peace with them and learning to co-exist! It is what caused Zavok to appear in the first place!
SILVER: Zavok!?
BLAZE: Are you saying Zavok only appears if the Gaian are being destroyed!?
MEPHILIS: Correct! His wrath is brought upon by the ambitions of those who would extinguish the original species that rule! They are but a test to see if a species is going to be those of peace… or those of war! The warlike are often destroyed before they become a problem!
BLAZE: ….No!
MEPHILIS: Yes! Your bloodline is stained with the sins of ambition! Conquest! Subjugation! And I was a fool to think you all could be saved!

Course, Sonic isn’t having it.

SONIC: Some nerve you 2 got!
MEPHILIS: What was that!?
SONIC: Who gave you or Zavok the right to dictate how we run things? The Gaian were destroyed on our homeworld ages ago, and he backed off because he got his ass beat! Maybe that means something! That we can transcend the dictates of a demigod!
MEPHILIS: Arrogant FOOL! That is exactly why this world will fall now!
BLAZE: Then…. then let it fall!
SILVER: Blaze!?
BLAZE: This world was shaped by tyranny and devastation wrought upon by our ancestors! That I will not deny! But I will make amends for that in the future, and if it means the world must fall, then so be it!
KNUCKLES: Our actions today will not be the same as those of the past! We will forge a destiny that puts our forefathers to shame!
SONIC: And you’ll be the last freak who’d ever stand in our way!
JET: ……….
MEPHILIS: ….Such is the arrogance of youth! Very well! I will ensure that the city that I built will not fall into the hands of such insolence!
RAY: Bring it on, Crystal Meph!

The final Mephilis fight. He still has the same exact attack patterns before, but now he also has the ability to summon large golems (those… big fucks in Shadow’s final boss in 06?). They’ll sit in the background shooting Dark Spire orbs at you, but they’ll merely freeze you in place and drain rings rather than just outright kill you. You know how it is, just tap jump or attack to break free and keep fighting. You can destroy the golems, and you might want to because between them and Mephilis spamming clones, you’re gonna be up to your ass in a cluttered screen where you can’t focus on anything. Silver and Ray are recommended for the fight.

After that shit, Mephilis will be on the ground.

MEPHILIS: I…. have failed. Is the future…. doomed? Will the Gaian race go extinct?
SONIC: You really don’t have faith in any of us, do you?
MEPHILIS: What?
BLAZE: We may share the burden of our ancestor’s actions, but we are not all doomed to repeat them.
AMY: Just look at Jet! His family are all warmongers, but he’s been doing his best to make peace with everyone on Mobius!
JET: Don’t put me in the spotlight!
SONIC: And hey, Knuckles’s grandparents might be stiffs, but he’s loosening up now that he gets out more!
KNUCKLES: Bah!
SILVER: We’re not as stagnant as you believe us to be! We can make a better world than what was left for us! That’s what you tried to do… right?
MEPHILIS: What was that?
AMY: Hedgehogs are very strict when it comes to their own powers. Yet you used your to the fullest extent to make a better world, even at the cost of your own allies. You didn’t care about the consequences.
SILVER: You just wanted to help people. Same for the Gaian.
MEPHILIS: …..And yet, you stopped me anyway.
SONIC: Hell yeah we did! If anyone’s going to take charge of the future, it’s going to be us! And no one is going to take that away!

Tails thinks back to Metal Sonic’s words about him becoming evil.

TAILS: (But only I can decide that.)
MEPHILIS: Hmm… if you are that confident…. then I suppose I can give this back.

Mephilis’s chest opens up, and Ray covers his eyes.

RAY: OH GOD! I CAN’T WATCH!!!!

And the Violet Sol Gem rises out of his body.

RAY: I hear no pulsating sound effects! So far so good!!
MEPHILIS: I believe you’ll need this to get back home!
AMY: You’re helping us?
MEPHILIS: If you 2 are sincere about the future…. then I won’t allow Zavok to claim the lives of my only living descendants. Place them in the Aeon Chamber below, and activate the console in this room. Only you 2 will be able to power the city. You must hurry. You have… no time to waste.
SILVER: …..Thank you for believing in us, Shoga.
MEPHILIS: Before I perish, I must tell the Babylonians.
JET: Hmm?
MEPHILIS: We discovered long ago that your homeworld…. is gone.
JET: …….What!?
MEPHILIS: Zavok destroyed it ages ago. Nothing exists but rubble… and….

before he could finish, Mephilis’s body is reduced to that of a puddle, which dries up shortly thereafter.

JET: WAIT! WHAT DID YOU MEAN!?
AMY: Jet, he’s gone! He’s gone!
JET: ……*punches wall* DAMMIT!
KNUCKLES: ………I’m sorry, Jet. I would’ve preferred if you did not receive that message.
JET: Oh cut the bull! I bet you’re elated to hear that!
SPEEDY: Now you are being irrational!
JET: ……….Screw it! We need to get this place rollin!

The last hub you get to visit! As Sonic, you can talk to anyone you care about. Tails….

SONIC: Hey! Where’s Emerl!? You didn’t forget him in the Ark, did you?
TAILS: ……….
SONIC: Tails?
TAILS: Sonic…. I couldn’t save him.
SONIC: ………I’m sorry, bud. It couldn’t have been easy to take him down.
TAILS: I’ll be fine. I just….
SONIC: Just take it easy, man. We’ll be free of this nightmare soon!
TAILS: Yeah. Thanks Sonic.

Ray is ready to go! Mighty sees that Silver and Blaze are a bit “too chummy” with each other. Amy is merely happy that she got to see her ancestor even if he was fucked up. Knuckles is ready to go! Rouge is ready to go! Silver and Blaze reconcile with each other.

Talk to Jet to begin the point of no return.

Blaze and Sonic use Waystones to transport everyone onto the Babylon Garden, Tails inserts the Sol Gems into the Aeon Engine, and Silver and Amy find the console to activate the entire thing.

Even so, the Koala kids are being pissy about the whole prospect.

MUZY: Why do we have to leave our home!?
BLAZE: ……….
COLONE: Enough! We can’t do anything about-
TABBY: It’s all her fault! She’s making us leave!
BLAZE: ………Can you fight against a demigod?
CREW: Huh?
BLAZE: Or a dragon made of pure fire?
SETTER: What are you talking about?
BLAZE: The planet is going to be destroyed. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Sylvania is gone, Sand Oasis will be gone, there will be nothing left of the planet. If you can’t fight, then all you can do is leave.
CREW: …….
BLAZE: Do not fret. *smiles* I will make sure you all have a better home and a future to look forward to.
KYLOK: Does that mean you’re not a princess anymore?
BLAZE: ……..That’s right. I lot my home too.
CREW: ………..
MUZY: …………..We’re sorry.
TABBY: We didn’t know you had it rough like us.
COLONEL: O_O
BLAZE: It’s ok. You don’t have to apologize.

JET: Alright, strap in!! We’re about to start!

Tails and Knuckles insert the Sol Gems into the Aeon Engine. Amy and Silver then activate the console! And Jet takes the wheel!

JET: ALL ABOARD WHO’S COMING ABOARD! WE’RE ABOUT TO SHIP OUT! DON’T FALL OFF!
AMY: I hope this works! I just hope my heart doesn’t stop while using this thing!
SILVER: Yeah, it’s a little more intense than I would rather have it!
JET: You 2 hangin in there!? We haven’t started yet!
AMY: Just make sure you don’t crash!!
JET: Yeah yeah.
SONIC; Tails, everything ok downstairs?
TAILS: You bet! This place just lit up like a Christmas tree!

On the outside, Sky Babylon starts to shake! As it does, the world around them is engulfed in molten lava!

ROUGE: Can’t this thing run any faster!?
JET: Hey Sonic, you might wanna get on that console!
SONIC: On it!

Sonic joins Amy and Silver on the console… and indeed, he was enough to get the places moving!

SONIC: Figured you 2 needed a little push!
AMY: I can see why Mighty calls you a showoff!
SILVER: I’m not complaining!
AMY: Er… neither was I! Maybe we should teach you what sarcasm is!
SILVER: I’ve never even heard of that word!
SONIC: Oh boy!

Sky Babylon rapidly ascends into the air! And just in time, too! Several Iblis golems rose from the lava, nearly swiping at them!

MIGHTY: WHOA!!! They almost hit us!!
RAY: I think they were trying to!

The Iblis don’t give up there. They try to breathe fire onto them, but to no avail!

Just then, a portal opens up above Babylon!

ROUGE: There! It’s working!
JET: Hell yeah! We’re free!

But as they ascend, Zavok was right there, watching!

ZAVOK: What? They would DARE try to escape MY Retribution!? No!!

He then creates a mountain tall enough before jumping off… and managing to catch the cliff side of the garden as they hit the portal!

As they do, Soleanna explodes!

*Astral Babylon*

JET: We’re in!

Everyone celebrates!

ROUGE: Good! Now where are we headed!?
JET: ……..Hell if I know! Anywhere is better than here!

Then, they all feel rumbling! The entire city is screaming!

SONIC: Guys, what was that!?

Jet sees out of a window that Zavok had appeared!

ZAVOK: GRAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! You pathetic mortals will not escape my wrath so easily!

He summons several Iblis creatures to attack the city!

ZAVOK: GO!! AMUSE YOURSELVES! GRAHAHAHAHAH!

ROUGE: It’s Zavok!
JET: That’s the guy!?
BLAZE: No! He can’t be here now!
JET: Damn! Guys, we got trouble! Zavok made it through the portal, and he’s attacking the island!
SONIC: What!?
SILVER: But why!? He already has Soleanna, he doesn’t need this island!
BLAZE: ……..It’s probably because of me!
SILVER: Blaze!?
SONIC: Don’t tell me you’re about to-
BLAZE: You all stop those creatures! I will face Zavok alone!
SILVER: NO!
AMY: Silver, don’t move! I need you!!!
SILVER: But…
AMY: I can’t do this alone!!!
BLAZE: It’s ok Silver. If I am to die, then everyone here will depend on you to lead them to a better future!

Blaze then storms out of the central tower.

SILVER: BLAZE!!!
SONIC: Grr…

Sonic then breaks off of the console.

AMY: SONIC! What are you doing!?
SONIC: You 2 are stronger than I am, you can keep this place stable! I’ll go after her!
SILVER: Sonic….

And Sonic leaves.

The final Zone is Night Palace. What’s that song called? “Unawakening Float”? That’s a weird title. Anywho, this is yet another Mach Speed zone. And Sonic will actually have projectiles now thanks to his sword. As you go through the place, take out as many Iblis as you can. It’s mostly a straightfoward path aside from the transitions to a different road. Would not keep those flying carpets.

After that, we find everyone in different parts of the city defeating most if not all of the Iblis enemies. Knuckles and Rouge shortly return to the central tower while Tails and Ray hold off monsters in the engine room. Silver and Amy are still trying to maintain the city.

And then… Blaze finds Zavok.

BLAZE: ZAVOK!! Demigod of destruction!
ZAVOK: *Turns around* Hah! So the little princess has come to pay me a visit! How nice of you to greet me so!
BLAZE: Zavok! Why are you attacking us here and now!? You’ve exacted your revenge, and destroyed my homeworld! I have nothing more for you to take! What more could you want from us!?
ZAVOK: Your ignorance is beyond belief! When I condemn a world, it’s inhabitants are not excluded from the inevitable destruction I bring! To try and escape my wrath is utter blasphemy!
BLAZE: If you must claim a soul, then claim mine alone!
ZAVOK: What!?
BLAZE: Yes. I’m willing to offer my life in exchange for safe passage of my friends! It was my race that slighted you, do not take your revenge out on those that have nothing to do with it! They deserve a chance to live and build a future for themselves!
ZAVOK: ……Clearly, you have no idea how this works! The Gaian are the balance of the cosmos! Without them, the denizens of that world will grow comfortable and arrogant! Feeling more powerful than they really are! And that causes them to feel as though they are entitled to conquests of the universe!
BLAZE: Then why spare the Echidnas!?
ZAVOK: ………
BLAZE: You gave them a chance to live and do as they please! What made THEM an exception!?
ZAVOK: So far, they are the only mortal species to show restraint! The felines?! Not so much! You’ve even corrupted the Koala race into waging war against the Gaian! They are tainted souls!
BLAZE: Then give us a chance to make amends!
ZAVOK: You had a whole century to get your act together! I will not wait for you to destroy another world!

Round 1 of Zavok. It’s an UN….WINNABLE…. BOSS FIGHT!!! Course, if you last a whole minute, you progress anyway. Zavok’s attack patterns are still the same. But since he’s immune to magic, Blaze’s action triggers won’t work at all in this fight.

So… Blaze gets beaten to the ground.

ZAVOK: Pitiful! Is this all the power that the last Queen of Soleanna can muster!? Without the Sol Gems, you have no chance of victory!

Just then, Sonic pops in and hurls a slash wave at Zavok’s back!

ZAVOK: GRAAAH! What the!?
SONIC: Yo Zavok! Mind if I cut in!?
BLAZE: S…Sonic!?
ZAVOK: You’re that Hedgehog from before!
SONIC: Ah, you remember me! Glad a little “mortal” like me scares the piss out of yah!
ZAVOK: You flatter yourself too much! For a pipsqueak with no credence to his name!
SONIC: Well then let me give you the rundown on what I can do!!

Unfortunately, it won’t be much because Round 2 is yet again an UN…WINNABLE… BOSS FIGHT!! Sonic can at least damage Zavok, but not by very much. Zavok can now block attacks and is only open in very small windows. Not that it matters.

After that asswhoopin, Sonic struggles to even land a blow as Zavok beats him mercilessly!

ZAVOK: It would appear that it is YOU being “run down”! Grahahah!

Zavok then knocks Sonic’s sword away, forcing him to spin attack him, though Zavok just punches him out of it. Charging kinetic energy in hands, Sonic tries to punch Zavok twice, but the demigod catches both of his fists and starts squeezing them tightly!

SONIC: *grunts*
ZAVOK: Weak!

And then he headbutts Sonic to the ground! And then he kicks him into a wall!

ZAVOK: I at least expect something from a member of the royal family! They’ve actually defeated me in the past! I expect more from the Echidna, last of the Guardian Angels! I anticipate true battle from the descendants of Mephilis! But you!? Who are you to me!?

He kicks him again!

ZAVOK: I don’t know you! You don’t even know yourself! A fool who has no sense of history or heritage! No fame! No true victories comparable to that of his own companions!

Sonic gets to his knees, shaking and spitting blood from his mouth, as he glares upon Zavok’s imposing stature!

ZAVOK: No past, no presence… and soon to have no future!! You are nothing more than a blank slate!!! GRAAH!

And he catches Sonic with a left rook, knocking him back to the ground.

BLAZE: Sonic… no!!!
ZAVOK: ………………
MIGHTY: …..You’re wrong, Zavok!

Mighty steps outside, both axes at the ready.

ZAVOK: *smiles* Well, what’s this!? Another fool eager to lose his life!?
BLAZE: Mighty, get away! He’s too strong!
MIGHTY: I hate to admit it, but if there’s one thing I know about Sonic, he’s full of surprises! He’s no one famous, but neither am I!

Ray also appears.

RAY: Same goes for me, bucko!
ZAVOK: Who is this now!?
RAY: We’ve been through a lot, yah know? Fighting fat scientists, evil robots, water gods, and some left over science project… and through each and every one of those trials, when the chips are down, he doesn’t join the chips!
ZAVOK: What the devil does that even mean!?
SONIC: *gets up* Easy!

Sonic struggles to get to his feet.

ZAVOK: What!? Have you not sampled enough of your own blood!?
SONIC: You can talk all the trash you want! That still won’t stop us from taking you out!

Mighty locks both of his axes together, Ray charges up with solar energy, Blaze emits fire from her wrists and back, and Sonic…. out of nowhere, generates 2 sabers composed entirely of Kinetic Energy!

ZAVOK: What the!? How!? Where did those come from!?
SONIC: *chuckles* Yeah, so I’m not famous, or come from a background of awesome guys in the past! All that means is… you don’t know what the hell I can do!! READY GUYS!?
ALL: YEAH!!!

Round 3 is the fun part! Now Sonic has a new action trigger (or just an upgraded one) where he can do multiple hits on one attack. Also, when the other players run into Sonic, they gain a boost in attack and speed (which I call the “runoff” effect). So if you wanna use Blaze for the fight, stick around Sonic so that she can actually damage the guy. That said, Zavok is twice as aggressive as ever before. He only has one new attack at this point, and it’s a Beerus Death Ball Reference. Covers the whole field but isn’t a one hit kill………………. so LONG as you’re Sonic or took on some of his kinetic energy to survive the blast!
Everyone has unlimited gauge during the fight because it’s hard enough with Zavok blocking every attack.

After that fight, everyone is beating Zavok’s ass! Mighty bashing Zavok’s face in with his axe, Blaze clawing at his chest and back before blasting him with explosive embers, and Sonic and Ray hitting him with Solar beams and Blue Stars.
At one point, you got Sonic and Mighty spinning in the air before kicking Zavok in the face.
After a while of beating him all over the place, Sonic spins in place to charge himself with kinetic energy, and then grabs hold of Ray!

SONIC: RAY! FIRE NOW!!!
ZAVOK: WHAT!?
RAY: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

And Ray unleashes…. well… a BIG ASS Solar Beam! Zavok tries his best to hold back the wave, but he struggles. And seemingly, his face melts!

ZAVOK: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

He’s blown backward off the edge of the island, but he manages to catch the side of it, holding on for dear life!

ZAVOK: DAMNED MORTALS! How can you have so much power in such puny bodies!?
BLAZE: You underestimated us simply because of our size?
MIGHTY: No wonder you got your ass kicked a few times before!
ZAVOK: No! It’s not possible! You only defeated me because of the power of the Sol Gems!
RAY: What’s your excuse now, tough guy!?
SONIC: Those babies are busy trying to power this entire island! You beat you with nothing but hands!
ZAVOK: Dammit all! Fine! I will concede for now, Princess! The battle is yours!
BLAZE: No. You give me too much credit. The real victory…. goes to Sonic.
SONIC: Huh?
ZAVOK: WHat!? You would shame me by crediting him!?
MIGHTY: Yeah, we helped too!
BLAZE: >_>……..

Sonic walks toward the edge, kinetic saber in hand.

ZAVOK: How DARE you approach me so casually! As though you are worthy of my head!
SONIC: I did enough damage, didn’t I?!
ZAVOK: It’s a sham! You shouldn’t have that kind of power! You’re nothing! A nobody! A nameless…. freak!!! WHO ARE YOU!!!!?

Sonic looks to Mighty, Ray, and Blaze in the back… and then turns around smiling.

SONIC: What you see is what you get! Just a guy who loves adventure!

And then he raises his saber, strengthening it tenfold!

SONIC: I’M SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!!! HYAAA!!

And finally slashes Zavok off of the island as he flies into the dimensional walls!

ZAVOK: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaah……

SONIC: And don’t you forget it!
MIGHTY: Pff… showoff!
SONIC: Eat it, Mighty!

Everyone heads back into the central tower, and Sonic rejoins Amy and Silver in stabilizing the city.

AMY: Are you sure you’re alright, Sonic!?
SONIC: Don’t worry about me! Keep this place from crumbling!
SILVER: You got it!

Jet continues driving…. but seems to be struggling!

ROUGE: Can’t you keep it steady, Jet!?
JET: I’m trying, but Zavok screwed up our balance! It’s hard to maintain control!

The city keeps inching near the dimensional walls!

JET: The wheel is too tight! I can’t turn it!!
TAILS: Jet!?
BLAZE: You have to keep it steady!!!
JET: I…. I can’t!!! It’s too unstable!! We won’t make it!

Just then, Knuckles punches Jet outcold!

ROUGE: WHAT THE!?
KNUCKLES: I’M NOT DYING IN THIS PLACE!!!

Knuckles turns the wheel hard to get away from the D.Walls! But his flying is erratic!

SONIC: Why’d you let Knuckles take the wheel!?
KNUCKLES: SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND KEEP THIS ISLAND STABLE, SONIC!!
SONIC: WHY DON’T YOU KISS MY-
SILVER: SONIC!!!

Knuckles does his best to keep the island from hitting the walls. Everyone becomes terrified of his horrible driving, however. Most notably, Rouge as she jumps on his back!

ROUGE: AAAAHHHHHH! SAVE ME KNUCKLES!!!!

And he quickly shoves her off!

KNUCKLES: GET YOUR BOSOM OFF MY BACK, WOMAN! I’M DRIVING!!

He continues his mad dash toward the portal exit!

TAILS: KNUCKLES! THERE IT IS!! WE CAN ESCAPE THERE!
RAY: FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!
SONIC: BRACE YOURSELVES!!!!
KNUCKLES: GRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!

…………..
………………

*Unknown*

They managed to escape from the warp tunnel… surprisingly unscathed! Everyone inside has a loooooooong sigh of relief!

RAY: Well, I bet this place is going to smell like scat all across the board!
MIGHTY: Thanks for that image, Ray.
RAY: You’re welcome!
SONIC: I am SO GLAD you didn’t kill us, Knux!
KNUCKLES: I find your faith lacking, Sonic!

And then, out of nowhere, Rouge immediately forces Knuckles backward and kisses him!

SONIC: Man, we almost… whoa!!
AMY: Oh dear…
TAILS: Yuck!!
RAY: O_O OoO

And then she immediately backs off of him, both having shocked expressions on their faces.

ROUGE: Oh! Oh dear god! I didn’t… did I!? Oh… oh no…

And then she looks at everyone else.

ROUGE: D-don’t look at me like that! That.. that was just a spur of the moment! That’s all! *nervous laugh*

And she flies away in embarrassment. Knuckles wipes his mouth.

KNUCKLES: O_O Helluva “spur”! *Looks at Ray*
RAY: *gravely voice* I hate you, Knuckles!!!
SILVER: I think we’re all grateful to Knuckles for getting us out of there safely.
SONIC: Lucky bastard….
AMY: Excuse me!?
SONIC: What!? Who wouldn’t envy that!?
AMY: Grrrr!

BLAZE: Well, the good thing is we all survived a perilous journey. We all have a second chance to create a better future for ourselves. And for our future generations.
SILVER: Yes! The world in which we lived may no longer exist… but we can start anew! We can finally build a greater tomorrow!
TAILS: ……..Yeah! We won’t be haunted by the nightmares of the past! We’ll learn from the past so we don’t repeat our mistakes! This is our chance to turn things around!
KNUCKLES: *clears throat* The past may determine who we are today, but not who we will become in the future!
SONIC: Nice try at saving face, Knux!
KNUCKLES: *blushes* BE QUIET, SONIC!!!
AMY: *giggles*
MIGHTY: *sighs* Well, if we’re all done with the fancy speeches, maybe we should go see where we landed?

Jet wakes up.

JET: Alright, which one of you ass(bleep) punched me!?
TAILS: Mrmm… I don’t know!
JET: Don’t lie to me Tails!
TAILS: *smiles* I really don’t know! Honest!
RAY: It could be a jerk who stole my future wife!!!!
JET: Your hands are still attached, Ray.
RAY: I don’t follow.
JET: Good! Where are we?!
TAILS: We don’t know yet. We haven’t gone outside.
JET: Then shall we?

Knuckles proceeds for an exit door when Rouge flies down to him.

KNUCKLES: ..Rouge?
ROUGE: Ahem…. *blushes* just so we’re clear, That… meant… absolutely… NOTHING! Understand?
KNUCKLES: Uhhhhh… of course! I… I think nothing of it! Why it was… merely an expression of gratitude!
ROUGE: Yes exactly! There’s absolutely no reason to pay it any mind at all! Just a random… unintended action brought on by stress of certain death!
KNUCKLES: Indeed! It could just be…. customary of surface dwellers to….. force one’s head back during the embrace!

And Rouge tosses a rock at him!

KNUCKLES: Hey!!!
ROUGE: DO YOU HAVE TO DESCRIBE IT IN DETAIL, YOU IDIOT!?

She walks away, pissed as all hell.

KNUCKLES: What is wrong with her!?

Ray walks by and flips Knuckles off.

KNUCKLES: I don’t understand that gesture.

Sonic, Mighty, and Amy all walk up to the exit door.

SONIC: Even though we have no idea where we are, this is actually kinda exciting!
AMY: No kidding! Who knows where we ended up! Right Mighty?
MIGHTY: ……..

He’s busy looking at Silver and Blaze.

AMY: Mighty?
SONIC: ……..You ok?
MIGHTY: Psh, yeah. We going outside?
AMY: You know, there are other fish in the sea, Mighty!
MIGHTY: Don’t you start, Princess! Sides, she’s got waaaay too much baggage to deal with!
SONIC: And she’s out of your league!
MIGHTY: Kiss my ass, Sonic! You gonna open the door or what!?
SONIC: Alright, alright! *deep breath* Well…. lets see where we are now!

He slowly opens the door…. And we get a fade to white here….

*Apotos Village*

A young “human” girl casually stares out of her window to see Sky Babylon.

GIRL: ……..Mom? There’s a weird island outside of my window!
MOM: How weird are we talking, honey?
GIRL: It’s flying!
MOM: What!?

Several residents start leaving their houses to look at Babylon as it hovers above Windmill Isle. And taking pictures.

END?

After the credits roll…

MESSAGE: Sonic has gained a new Action Trigger! Go to custom settings to set Sonic’s Action Trigger from “Blade” to “Kinetic Sabers”

MESSAGE: Shadow the Hedgehog has been unlocked!

Capcom’s going back to mercenaries? (RE Project Resistance)

So lets take a crack at speculations.

A. Mercenaries cash in

B. Competing with shit like FUSE or Left 4 Dead… or even World War Z, that piece of shit.

I’m guessing the RE2 engine will get reused, it’ll be online only, and we can expect DLC costumes for Stars/RPD and all that other bullshit. Single Player Off-Line while Multiplayer online, that kind of shit. Somehow, this will tie into RE2 in general or just be a fanservice game because RE2 did so well.

Now… is it just me or did the cast of Riverdale get shoved into Raccoon City? 😛

They’re going to fuck up Xenoblade

Kids are into anime these days!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Why is this game awesome, again? (Velocity 2x)

You know when developers are too full of themselves when they decide to put a “making of” documentary in the game.

Velocity 2x, like every other indie game on the market, is probably the most overrated indie game in existence. Or it would be if Shovel Knight/Shantae didn’t exist. It has won a million awards and is praised to the highest of heavens, and I’m here thinking to myself that the masses must be aliens to have the patience to put up with such unintuitive and disorientating controls.
Maybe it’s just the PS4 port, but the control layout is…. beyond retarded, and I would’ve hoped that this was the only flaw of the game, but progressing through the title shows a layer of tedium that the documentary nor the public would ever allow you to know.

To start off, the story is an absolute bore. Kai, a white chick with a Japanese name (go figure) is captured and turned into a cyborg by Aliens called the Vokh. She escapes, however, with the aid of her own personal Wookie, Ralan, they fight against the Vokh and try to escape back to her homeworld. Add in some crummy attempts at humor and you’ve got your typical star wars adventure.

Just like an indie game, the story is just there to serve as an excuse for the gameplay. But hey, the documentary makes sure to note that they were praised because a 7 year old girl got to play as a bad ass female character. Woopty fucking doo! You can tell they’re tickled by that shit. Moving on.

Graphically, yes, the game has pretty colors. It does not change the fact that it looks no better than a mobile game made in flash. Gah, that’s being too harsh, right? I mean the documentary said that the pretty colors “pop and inspire” people, and I’m looking for hows and whys. I’ve honestly seen better from Blazeblue and Persona Arena, so “color” me spoiled. Not only that, but the way the game is set up, you don’t have the luxury of taking in the scenery. I’ll get to why in a moment.

Now lets talk about controls. Certainly… the game starts off simple. Press X to Fire, Square to Teleport, basic shit, right? It’s all well and good…. until you get to the stage where you’re on foot. And immediately, that’s where things start to go wrong. I take issue with games that make it where I have to take my thumbs off the face buttons in order to the control sticks in any other means besides selecting weapons or moving the camera, and this game…. for some ungodly reason, makes it so that you HAVE to use R3 to shoot while on foot! The game takes on the airs of a twin stick shooter for absolutely no reason. So… you’d think jumping controls would be mapped to the shoulders so that you can run, jump, and attack all at the same time, right? No. You literally have to stretch your thumb up and down from the face buttons to the control stick, rinse and repeat. This is not a good control scheme, and the reason they claim to have done this in said documentary was because “they did not want the switch from Quarp to on-foot to be jarring, so we mapped the teleport function to the same button”. Ok, but why make the primary attack so that we have to take our goddamn thumbs off of the face buttons just to use the stick!? It’s bad design.
It gets a little better later on with the plasma rifle since it’s actually mapped to Circle, but it’s made damn near useless since it cannot shoot in more than a straight line, and the hand blaster gets upgraded damage output. It’s just a more convenient attack. Goddamn this is shoddy design.

Believe it or not, but the ship gets this treatment once it can use bombs. Now you can only use the R stick to toss bombs in any direction. So… I can only shoot (IE X Button) in one direction, but then I have to use these slow ass bombs to attack in multiple directions? When it comes to these arcade-style games, you wanna have fast reflexes. Having to swap between face buttons and stick just for another means of attack means you gotta reorient your hands and shit. Good controls are “invisible”, meaning they are seamless and you don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out where they are. This would likely not be an issue if there wasn’t 2 separate styles of play going on here.

The most important ability in this game is to teleport between walls and obstacles, so that was given priority over the means to attack. And the documentary (:P) meant that the controls for teleporting would be kept the same. Cause…. shooting and jumping are 2 different things! It probably would have made sense to map teleports to Circle, and then have shooting be Square while everything else remains the same, that way the ship has no function for jumping, but can shoot and teleport, and on foot, the jumps would be added, but the shooting and warping controls would be kept the same. Or… it the British bastards gave us the option to reconfigure the controls so we wouldn’t have this problem! But eh.

They also didn’t have the foresight to not sabotage movement controls either. See, in a 2D game, I am prone to using to Dpad. And why wouldn’t I? Nothing is more perfect for a 2D arcade game than movement controls that are strictly 2Dimensional. But alas, on foot segments have a “telepod” function that makes the controls more convoluted than they need be. To put it in context, there are levels in which you will have to backtrack between in order to progress. Yes! An arcade game with BACKTRACKING!!! They figured it was a good idea to make you go find these numbered switches that you have to hit in orders from 1-9 in order to open doors or destroy barriers. So there are dozens of stages where the way forward is blocked off by said barriers, and you have 2 branching paths from left to right. So you have to press TRIANGLE… to place a warp pad down, and you have to use the Left shoulders to traverse between them. That doesn’t sound too bad at first. But on-foot, it’s a different story.
Going back to the movement controls, remember that I use the Dpad? Well, on-foot, you have telepods that you can use inside, but their use is a little different. You can either lay one down… or TOSS them into certain areas so you warp there easily. This part is important because there are plenty of stages where hurling a telepod through tiny crevices is important. You have to stand still (hold Triangle) and fucking AIM to where you are trying to throw the telepod. And… you can’t just do this with the Dpad. You have to use the Left Control Stick to aim the telepod. I have… no idea why they would make this a thing. I assume it’s for precise aiming, but you don’t even have precision on that front. Aiming it is often slow and wonky, so you’ll end up making a few bad shots here and there. Yeah yeah I know, “take your time”, and shit. I’ll get to why that argument doesn’t work for this game.

So you have… convoluted controls between 2 different sets of playstyles, and backtracking with telepods. In the documentary mentions that they want players to go at their own pace, and when they’re comfortable enough, they can “challenge themselves” by going for the fastest times. Yeah, no, that is a bald faced lie.
You see, the way you progress through stages isn’t the normal “beat stage, then continue”. The stages are very easy to complete, you have unlimited lives, and enough time to complete them. That’s not the challenge. See, in order to unlock more stages, you have to have a certain number of experience points. And you earn them not merely by completing stages, but setting records. Certain time goals, the amount of pods you collect, crystal shards, and high score. Each of these categories have 3 goal posts that reward 10-40 XP per goal met. So you play one stage and you have 3 categories, you might meet a few goal posts without knowing it… and for me, this hit around stage 40, I had completed a stage and found that I couldn’t play the next one. “What is this shit!?” I said. Turned out I was about….500 xp short. All those speed goals I ignored happened to bite me in the ass.

So… I go back, try for the fastest goals to get those extra 40 points (20 points each goal) just to build it up. And in doing so, I ignored a lot of pods and crystals…. and then THAT bit me on the ass. Turns out if you don’t collect a certain number of pods AND crystals, you fail the stage by default. So… you have to collect as many pods and crystals as you can…. AND… you have to meet these time goals…. in order to progress.

Even though the documentary says you can play these stages at your own pace. And if you are COMFORTABLE…. you can challenge yourself. The game itself…. REQUIRES…. that you meet time goals without regard for your own pace. Now, you combine this with how messy the control layout is and how the game requires you to backtrack through levels… well…. it’s damned tedious, isn’t it? Repetitive too.

On the outside, the game looks fun. Its extremely fast paced, colorful, has all these explosions, and makes one believe its a full on action game. But instead, its a pain i n the ass for all the wrong reasons. Its more “fetch quest” and puzzle oriented where you find yourself having to collect enough pods and crystals to complete a stage, and then running back and forth to shoot numbered switches in the correct order, all the while you have these disorienting controls between 2 gameplay styles (again probably a result of the moron who mapped the controls on ps4) and a progression system tied to how fast you complete stages.

How the hell did this game win Oscars?

The thing that boggles my mind is the lengths people will go to praise an indie game when in all truth, the game in question has some iffy design choices. And all the while, the making of documentary is there to placate people into believing the game is better than it is. You got a guy in this doc that literally says that (he believes) Velocity 2x is the greatest shooter ever created. LITERALLY!!! So already, the game is practically selling itself! I feel there was more time spent trying to convince one of the game’s greatness rather making a really great game. And that is one of the main reasons the industry itself is trash. If indies have to be the ones to “save videogames”, taking on one of their worst traits is not what you want to do. Velocity 2x is not well designed in the slightest, stop pretending that it is.

Doing it Better: Neo Sonic 7 (Act 2)

*Far off Island*

Here, we join Knuckles on his private expedition in a far away land. He had just finished wiping the floor with Gaian Nightmares, though he’s taken aback by how numerous they are.

KNUCKLES: What are these demons? Is there no end to them? And… why do they look so familiar?

He walks around for a bit. And then he thinks back to the Carnival Night Zone, where their attractions had Gaian pictures.

KNUCKLES: Could those creatures be…. “Gaian”? How is it possible for them to exist in more than one world?
???: ………Because they are not bound to a single universe!
KNUCKLES: *gasps* Who’s there!?
???: I’m over here!

Knuckles looks toward a darkened crevice and sees a morbid looking black smoke

And then, a crystalized Hedgehog emerges from the smoke.

KNUCKLES: ………What are you!?
MEPHILIS: Hahahahahahha! What’s wrong, Echidna? Do you fear my visage!?

Mephilis inches closer to Knuckles.

KNUCKLES: Keep your distance, Phantom! Lest your rest be eternal!
MEPHILIS: You need not threaten a dead Mobian! Especially one who does not seek war.
KNUCKLES: And just what is it that you seek?
MEPHILIS: ……This world’s demise!
KNUCKLES: Then you sound no better than a devil!
MEPHILIS: Is it the mind of a devil who would want to punish evil? This world is ruled by the most demonic species known to the multiverse! It was ordained by the Gods themselves that this planet must fall! And that was only 200 years ago! Why, then, is this world allowed to flourish to this day? Why do I remain trapped in this form!?
KNUCKLES: What is this rambling!? What are you talking about!?
MEPHILIS: You are their historical enemy! You should want their demise as much as anyone else!
KNUCKLES: Who are you talking about!?
MEPHILIS: ……You have no idea who rules this planet!? Perhaps you should seek out the Capital of Soleanna! The Royal Family is tainted with the sins of Ambition! For maintaining their power outweighs their own freedom! They deceive all who traverse their circles! But not you! You can be the catalyst to their ruin! Ye their historical enemy!
KNUCKLES: I will do no such thing!
MEPHILIS: You have no choice! Lest your allies turn to ash!

Then Mephilis disappears!

KNUCKLES: Hold on!

He looks around feverishly, but finds no trace of Mephilis.

KNUCKLES: ……”Lest my allies turn to ash”? What does that fiend really know!?

*Castle Sylvania*

Everyone was still shocked to hear Emerl claim to be the Black Tristar.

RAY: So why does everything you make always try to kill us in the end?
TAILS: This is a mistake! It has to be! Why would Emerl just turn evil!?
EMERL: The process by which I would become him is undetermined, but his data records show that he was from the future by approximately 2 centuries. A lot can happen during that time.
SONIC: How would you even know!? Is that what he told you!?
EMERL: He shared his data records with me through a wireless function, which I can confirm are legitimate. The same algorithms, the same protocols and sub-routines. He is me, only more advanced and tyrannical. I cannot determine where his new programming came from.

Blaze stands up from her throne.

BLAZE: Then we only have one option. We destroy Emerl here and now to prevent the Black Tristar from ever existing!
AMY: What!?
TAILS: NO!
BLAZE: Hmm?
TAILS: …………If this is what happens to him in the future, I can stop it now! I swear!
HATHOR: We can all stop it by removing that machine from existence!

Hathor stands up and conjures a fireball in the palm of her hand!

HATHOR: *smiles* Afterall, it is a toy created by those wretched Echidna!
TAILS: YOU CAN’T DO THAT!!
HATHOR: Do not raise your voice at me, child! It said so itself! It will become a threat in the future, and we will not risk it!

Then Silver gets in the way.

BLAZE: Silver?
HATHOR: What do you think you are doing!?
SILVER: Please hear me out. We’ve already defeated the Black Tristar at this point. The salvage teams revealed that his warship was the only means of creating new bodies. This means that the threat he poses is really over, and that we have nothing to worry about in the near future. This robot claims that his turning occurs within 200 years time. Now that we know what happens, Tails might be able to prevent it!
HATHOR: You honestly believe a child can prevent this machine from killing us all!?
SONIC: Take it from us! Tails is the smartest guy we’ve ever known! Maybe second to a fat guy, but still pretty damn close!
RAY: If anyone can to the bottom of it, he can!
AMY: 200 years is a very long time! Enough time to stop it from ever happening!
TAILS: ………….
HATHOR: ….Hmm.

Hathor lowers her arm and puts out her fire.

HATHOR: Your allies put a lot of faith in you, Fox. I suggest you not betray their trust! Until then, you and that machine will NOT be allowed in the city!
SONIC: What!? You’re banning a kid!?
HATHOR: I will not risk what is left of our city to the sentiments of outsiders!
SILVER: But the Gaian have arrived early! He might not be able to survive out there on his own!
BLAZE: There’s still Sand Oasis. Gaian activity there is nonexistent thanks to a lack of dark hiding places and harsh sunlight. Not to mention that’s where their original space craft exists. There are many options.
SILVER: Your highness, please reconsider!
TAILS: Silver, don’t.
SILVER: But Tails, you’ll-
TAILS: I know, I know. But if there’s one thing I know, I can’t protect Emerl in the city, or fix him here.
SONIC: So you’ll allow yourself to be exiled!?
TAILS: If that’s what it takes, Sonic.
RAY: Hrmm!
HATHOR: Then why are you still here, boy? Run along and fix the problem!
TAILS: ….Yes Ma’am. Come on, Emerl.

They both leave.

SONIC: Tails!
HATHOR: You’re not being held against your will, Sonic. You may follow if you wish.
SONIC: ……..Fine by me! I’ll see you guys later!
AMY: Hold on! Take these!

Amy gives Sonic a bag of Waystones.

SONIC: Are these Waystones!?
AMY: Give those to Tails before he leaves the city! That way, he won’t have long trips to take! And he won’t run into anymore Gaian. We… sort of need you here.
SONIC: What do you mean? You guys are pretty tough by yourselves, right?
RAY: We’re being spread thin! We don’t even know where Mighty is!
SONIC: Oh yeah. Well, it’s better than nothing! Thanks, Amy!
HATHOR: Just ensure he doesn’t come back into the city!
SONIC: Yeah yeah. I still think you’re making a huge mistake.

Sonic leaves the castle

HATHOR: You can think whatever you believe!

*Village Square*

Here, you’re controlling Sonic. All you have to do is find Tails near the exit gates. On the other hand, you can take in the view of the…. “royally” fucked up city! Lots of destruction, NPCs on the ground (O_O), Honey is more concerned with that “handsome armadillo”, and the shop has new costumes. You like soap shoes? They’re overrated and ugly, but there they are!

Meet up with Tails at the gate, give him the Waystones, and be on your way.

SONIC: Hey, you forgot something!
TAILS: Huh? Waystones?
SONIC: Yeah. You can use these to get back to Sand Oasis in no time!
TAILS: Thanks, but I won’t head there yet.
SONIC: What!? Why not!?
TAILS: I need to check Tristar’s warship first. If I can find his remains, I might be able to find the cause behind Emerl’s turning!
SONIC: Well let me go with you. Less chance of us getting jumped by those things!
TAILS: Uh… Sure, ok!

On the world map, you still have access to the Aquatic Base, but the new zone that shows up is “Misty Lake”. Nothing particularly special about this zone outside of the increasing number of Gaian you’ll have to deal with. It’s a one act Zone, and you have something resembling a boss. A Gaian Titan. You know, those big fucks with clubs? Yeah. The eye is the only weak point, and Tails is the only one who can strike it. Height and all. Course, Sonic’s sword can damage it on the feet. It just won’t do as much damage as hitting the weakpoint.

After that, they make it to the wrecked warship. The salvage teams are still trying to make sense of it’s technology.

SONIC: Well, here it is.
EMERL: I don’t think I should be here.
TAILS: Well… then don’t get too close to that ship! I’ll collect everything I need and then we’ll go to Sand Oasis. Ok?
SONIC: So you’re good to go?
TAILS: Yeah. Thanks Sonic.
SONIC: No prob! Take care of yourself!

Sonic leaves.

TAILS: …..Alright. Lets see what we can find and use for ourselves!

MESSAGE: Tails has left the party.

(Yes, I’m aware I keep sidelining the poor fuck >_>)

*Far Off Island*

Knuckles is still traveling abroad… when he runs into Rouge!

KNUCKLES: …You!
ROUGE: *sighs* Yes, “me”! You say that as though I’m not allowed here!
KNUCKLES: Where are the others!? You’ve abandoned them!?
ROUGE: Lets just say the “others” are off fighting battles that have nothing to do with us!
KNUCKLES: Then why would you leave them!?
ROUGE: Why would “you”? You think because you’ve been barred from a city that you can’t even get near it!?
KNUCKLES: ……Alright, what is going on with you?
ROUGE: Hmph! Why should I explain myself to you!?
KNUCKLES: ……..Who else can you trust in this world? The only other ears you’ve had lended to you, you’ve left behind.
ROUGE: You’re just lonely, aren’t you?
KNUCKLES: Well, this solo trip has become dull and cryptic. Familiar company is preferable.
ROUGE: ………..

The sun starts to set as they both just talk.

KNUCKLES: They would waste time with ceremonies than to prepare for a battle!? That isn’t practical at all! This “Queen” is not suited for rule if she would lavish away at some feast!
ROUGE: That’s what we ALL said! But leave it to royal families to think about themselves rather than the good of the world! *sighs* ……I wish Fang were still here.
KNUCKLES: ……You mean that wolf with the eyepatch?
ROUGE: He’s the only one who’d ever have enough backbone to say we shouldn’t sit on our hands and eat when we’re being surrounded by enemies. It seems like everyone here is so eager to place that Queen. Fang would never bow down to anyone else’s authority except his own. He’d be the first one to say *imitates Fang* “I’m dying because the tiara wants to sit on her ass and eat!” *tears* Oh god, look at me! I’m a mess! I can just hear him now! “What are you doing crying like a little girl!?”
KNUCKLES: I doubt he would chastise you for mourning him.
ROUGE: Believe me, he would. *sighs* It feels so weird… not working with him. And instead you’re surrounded by complete strangers who don’t want to take risks. It’s frustrating!
KNUCKLES: Even if those risks include theft?
ROUGE: Yes, dammit! If you had to steal back something important to you, wouldn’t you!?
KNUCKLES: …….
ROUGE: Why does everyone assume that because you’re a thief, you’re automatically a bad person? Survival doesn’t care what rules you have to break to live!
KNUCKLES: …….Then I’ll keep my thoughts to myself.
ROUGE: Good! I don’t want to know them anyway!
KNUCKLES: That’s not what I mean. If you are a thief, then you are skilled in infiltration, yes?
ROUGE: …Why Knuckles! What ever would you have in mind that would require MY skills?

He stands up.

KNUCKLES: I encountered a strange creature that mentioned that the royal family is tainted with the sins of ambition. And that they deceive all who traverse this world. It has me concerned.
ROUGE: A royal family that’s corrupt? Heh! Haven’t heard that one before!
KNUCKLES: If there is a chance that our friends are in danger, we should look into this ourselves! Even if it means sneaking in.
ROUGE: Ooooooh, risky!
KNUCKLES: Would you stop talking like that!?

MESSAGE: Knuckles and Rouge have rejoined you!

Back on the world map, you can go back to Castle Sylvania………. so lets go! 😛

*Castle Sylvania*

Now I KNOW this would get bad reviews. Here’s a bit of a stealth mission. Playing as Rouge in the hub world, you would have to sneak into the back entrance of the castle. Koalas are all over the place with those lumine orbs floating around as well. Since Rouge can fly and climb, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get around them. Course, once you reach the entrance, you’d find that you need a key. Here, you’d switch to Knuckles who would have to sneak up on guards, knock them out, and see if they have a key on em. Once you find the bastard, take the key and head to the back entrance with Rouge to enter the next zone which is the Evil Foundry.

WHO’S GONNA ROCK THE BASE! BASE! BASE! WHO’S GONNA ROCK THE BASE!? AND NO ONE CAN TOUCH THIS! I tell yah, the storybook games are lousy, but they got the bomb ass soundtrack!

Anywho, this zone is devoid of enemies, but has an assload of traps to avoid! And they’re triggered by motion sensoring beams that you can see normally. That’s why it’s recommended to play as Rouge. Her Black Wave/Sonic Scream can reveal those beams easily. Plus, her flying and climbing abilities are a shit ton better than Knux’s, so navigating the area will be far easier.
At least for Act 1. Act 2 will start having security teams and golems attack. And here’s where Knuckles is a better fit. Since he does more damage and has better moves overall, he can devastate the entire Act alone! Koala Guards will have “magic arrows” to shoot, so you’ll want to avoid those as well.

After the zone, Knuckles and Rouge come upon a treasure room.

ROUGE: Well now! I can see why they wanted us out of the castle! Look at this room! All the jewels-
KNUCKLES: We are not here to satisfy your obsession for crystals! We need to discover what…. hmm.
ROUGE: Oh! See something you like?
KNUCKLES: I feel… Chaos Energy.

They look around a bit until they find the 6 “Sol Gems” locked behind a glass case.

ROUGE: I guess it’s those glowing jewels?
KNUCKLES: ……Yes! I don’t believe it! They feel like Chaos Emeralds! But why!?
ROUGE: Maybe this dimension has it’s own variants of them?
KNUCKLES: If that’s the case, then we now know why this Royal Family is so powerful in the first place! They perhaps used them to dominate the whole planet! Is this what that creature meant by “sins of ambition”?
ROUGE: Now you’re just thinking too hard.
KNUCKLES: What theories would you possess?
ROUGE: I’d say the old fool was trying to keep this a secret the whole time! If anyone knew these Sol Gems were here, someone would steal them and use them against the Kingdom! So she’ll distract us with little parties from time to time just to keep everyone pacified!
KNUCKLES: There has to be more to this.
ROUGE: Well here’s an idea! Lets take them, have the little fox boy look at them, and then determine what makes them so special!

Rouge reaches for the box, but Knuckles grabs her arm!

ROUGE: Hey!
KNUCKLES: Hold on! This thing might be a trap!
ROUGE: A trap!? I’ve scanned this whole room before stepping inside, it’s harmless!
KNUCKLES: This world runs on magic! It’s outside of your field of expertise!
ROUGE: Are you saying you know this better than I do!? You who needed my help to break inside in the first place!?
KNUCKLES: Shh! They’ll hear us!

MIGHTY: *below floor* HEY! Keep it down up there! I’m trying to sleep! Jackasses!
ROUGE: ….Was that Mighty!?
KNUCKLES: I’d recognize his insolence anywhere! It has to be him!
ROUGE: They gave “HIM” a room!?

*Dungeon*

Mighty is still… “hanging out” down below until Knuckles and Rouge find him.

MIGHTY: What the… what are you guys doing here!?
ROUGE: We should be asking you the same thing! They locked you up!?
MIGHTY: More or less.
KNUCKLES: It was only a matter of time before your attitude would get you in trouble!
MIGHTY: Bite me, Knuckles! And for your information, I was locked up because I pushed little miss high strung into a pond! I guess the princess hates water or something.

Rouge starts picking the locks on his chains.

ROUGE: Well, I’d be upset too if you ruined my clothes, but wouldn’t this be considered disproportionate retribution?
KNUCKLES: Why on Earth would you do that!? She could’ve assumed you were trying to drown her!
MIGHTY: She had an injury, and we were about to attacked by Gaian!
KNUCKLES: Does she know that?
MIGHTY: The question is does she care?
ROUGE: Guess we can ask her ourselves when we get the chance. In either case, this is irrational!

*Castle Sylvania*

Silver goes to see Blaze

SILVER: Princess. I think we should discuss-
BLAZE: I’ve told you a thousand times! It’s “Blaze!” “Blaze, Blaze, and Blaze!”
SILVER: I’m not to address you otherwise. Sorry. But we need to discuss Mighty. Everyone is worried sick about him.
BLAZE: I’m aware of that.
SILVER: You know it’s wrong to have thrown him in the dungeon! He was only trying to protect you!
BLAZE: Well, there are better ways.
SILVER: Princess This isn’t right!

And she stomps the floor!

BLAZE: Why do you keep calling me that!?
SILVER: ….It’s your title and status, isn’t it?
BLAZE: You’ve known me long before you ever knew I was related to the royal family! Nothing has actually changed between us!
SILVER: Well…. yeah but-
BLAZE: Then why is it so hard for you to refer to me as “Blaze”!? That’s my name!
SILVER: ……….
HATHOR: Because, “Blaze”.

Hathor had walked into the room.

HATHOR: You must learn to expect the appropriate response to your authority and power. Any familiarity anyone would have with you is a direct implication of equality. And that equality would demand higher expectations over you, eventually.
SILVER: Queen Hathor!
BLAZE: Mother.
HATHOR: You may leave now, Silver.
SILVER: Yes ma’am.

He looks back to Blaze before departing.

HATHOR: Besides, you 2 might have been friends in the past. However, he was destined to be your subordinate. It’s best that he knows his place sooner or later. Don’t try to fight against that reality.
BLAZE: 😦

*Dungeon*

Heads down into the dungeon to release Mighty.

SILVER: *deep breath* Hope I’m doing the right thing!

But he looks inside and finds that he’s gone!

SILVER: What the…. who!? Oh no! Maybe they knew!

*Village Square*

As Silver, head over to the Outsider’s Hub for the next scene. Or…. buy some costumes and take a gander at all the guards that have been knocked out!

GUARD: Someone knocked me out! He has really hard punches!
GUARD: I think I saw some bat flying around earlier. She was so beautiful! But perhaps… that beauty is used for devious purposes!
GUARD: I think I saw some red guy walking around earlier. He had these green bands on his hair. And a permanent scowl! I wouldn’t wanna mess with him!

Going to the tavern, Honey would be outside herself.

HONEY: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a red guy this whole time in Sylvania. But this one looked like such a hunk! But he seems to have been taken by this bat girl. A shame, right?
SILVER: Yeah…. sure.

Anywho, at the Outsider’s Hub, Silver finds Amy outside of the door.

SILVER: Amy?
AMY: Oh, hi Silver! What’s up?
SILVER: Where are Sonic and Ray?
AMY: Inside asleep. Why?
SILVER: Uh… well…. you guys…. haven’t been to the castle recently, have you?
AMY: …….No?
SILVER: And neither have those 2?
AMY: Silver, what’s going on?
SILVER: Well…. I think someone might’ve broken in. A lot of our guards were knocked out! And… one of our prisoners have escaped!
AMY: That’s awful! Do you need help finding them!?
SILVER: No. The prisoner in question is…. only has a minor offense. He’s not dangerous. Still…
AMY: …..It’s Mighty, isn’t it?
SILVER: What!? No! I…. it is. How would you know!?
AMY: I overheard you and the princess arguing. It’s crazy what she did! Why would you approve of something like that!?
SILVER: I don’t, I don’t! It’s just that she…. well, she’d prefer I don’t tell her stories to other people.
AMY: She doesn’t have to know!
SILVER: And she’ll always find out.
AMY: Well then tell me the other part! Why she gets so upset about you calling her a princess!
SILVER: Is this really the time for that!?
AMY: No. But it wasn’t the time to have a ceremony either.
SILVER: ……I’m under orders to never refer to her as Blaze ever again without first addressing her as princess! She has to focus on her role as a future Queen! I cannot disrupt that!
AMY: Maybe she doesn’t want to think of you as just another subordinate! If you care about her, maybe you should be more considerate of her feelings!
SILVER: It’s not that simple!
AMY: Because of Queen Hathor!? Is that it!?
SILVER: I can’t just go against her will!
AMY: It didn’t stop you from putting up that shield! Why are you so afraid of her!?
SILVER: I’M NOT!!!
AMY: O_O;
SILVER: I can’t just…*sighs* I’m wasting time! I need to find Mighty before we all get into trouble!

Silver leaves.

AMY: Silver, wait! …….. 😕

*Sand Oasis*

Tails and Emerl meet up with Jet, with all the spare parts he could gather.

JET: So Emerl becomes a dick in the future. Why don’t you just reduce him to scrap, sell him for spare parts, and save yourself the trouble?
TAILS: Because Emerl is my friend! Right?
EMERL: But Jet is correct. Destroying me now may save the future.
TAILS: That’s not gonna happen!
JET: Your buddies were talking about how you already built a killer robot. You honestly think you can save this guy?
TAILS: It’s worth a shot, right?
JET: If you say so.
TAILS: By the way, you find anything out from your…. People?
JET: So far, none of them know how they got to this world. But some of the kids said something interesting.
TAILS: Like what?
JET: Look up!

Tails looks into the sky and sees a large, floating island.

TAILS: Is that an… Island?
JET: Yeah. They refer to it as “Sky Babylon”. And their mythology says that if they’re good, then when they die, they will rejoin their ancestors in the skies.
TAILS: Couldn’t they just fly to it?
JET: We Babylonians don’t “fly” in the same way you can. Just cause we’re birds doesn’t mean we can go airborne at will.
SPEEDY: *Off-Screen* I used to!
JET: *sighs* YEAH, SO YOU SAY!!
EMERL: Not to be a bother, but-
TAILS: I know, I know. Ok Jet! I’ll see you later!
JET: Yeah, sure!

Here, you can control Tails. Might wanna buy some Trigger Upgrades while you’re in the oasis. You can also chat up with some the NPCs here for more info on that “myth of Sky Babylon”. Anywho, just take the exit to the Ark.

*Space Colony Ark*

Tails and Emerl head inside.

TAILS: Ok, we’ve got enough salvage, we’ve got Tristar’s parts, and some of that weird liquid metal that was surrounding the place. Now all we have to do is analyze everything, and get to the bottom of what… happens to you.
EMERL: It is illogical to go through so much trouble for a machine. Even one you claim to be a friend. The amount of Gizoid parts you’ve collected are enough to replace me.
TAILS: No one’s replacing you! Got it!? You’re…. you’re one of kind, you know!?
EMERL: Is this about me… or about Metal Sonic?
TAILS: He’s got nothing to do with you! Ok!? Just…. help me sort this out!
EMERL: You don’t have to prove anything, Prower. You are not like Ivo Robotnik.
TAILS: JUST STOP!!
EMERL: ………
TAILS: This has NOTHING… to do with Metal Sonic, NOTHING to do with that fat jerk, and NOTHING to do with me! It’s all… to keep you… from turning into a monster! Got it!? That’s all!
EMERL: …..Very well.
TAILS: Ok! Now just…. there should be some… cable in that closet there, could you go get it?
EMERL: You haven’t been in this station long enough to know where anything is.
TAILS: Well just… please Emerl! I’m doing this all for you! Ok!?
EMERL: Affirmative.

Emerl goes through the ship to find any spare cables. However, he enters a laboratory and finds footprints.

EMERL: These are recent.

He checks the entire lab up until he gets to a locker. When he opens it, he finds Neo Metal Sonic’s head attached to Gamma’s body!

EMERL: What the-

Before he could do anything, Metal’s eyes flash red multiple times before completely shutting down.

And just then, Emerl falls backward. Immobilized.

*Castle Sylvania*

Sonic, Ray, and Amy are back in the lobby trying to find out where Mighty is.

SONIC: So you guys have nothing?
HATHOR: We don’t know his whereabouts. We’ve been focused on gathering our troops for the coming skirmishes.
SILVER: ………..
AMY: …………
RAY: Ok something’s wrong! I get the feeling that you guys might’ve locked him up in a dungeon or something!
SILVER & BLAZE: !!!!!
HATHOR: *scoffs* And what would give you that idea?
RAY: Well you know… he gets your daughter out of harm’s way, then we hear nothing from him since that point? Yeah, I’d say you 2 did something to him!
HATHOR: Well, it would be nice if you provided some evidence to support this little theory of yours.
???: Yeah, just turn around!

They all look to find Mighty and Rouge outside of a doorway!

SONIC: MIGHTY!
RAY: Hotness!?
ROUGE: Long time no see, boys! Hope you enjoyed the party!
SILVER: So you’re the one who broke him out!
SONIC & RAY: BROKE HIM OUT!?
RAY: So I was right!
SILVER: ………Er…
MIGHTY: Now how about that explanation!?
HATHOR: What is the meaning of this!?
MIGHTY: Your crazy daughter had me locked away in a prison!

Blaze closes her eyes in embarrassment.

HATHOR: What for!?
ROUGE: I take it you Felines don’t like baths?
MIGHTY: We were being chased by Gaian, I had to hide you somehow!
BLAZE: That…. that doesn’t give you the right to shove me into a pond!
MIGHTY: You had an injury, you weren’t fit to fight!
HATHOR: You mean to tell me that you tossed him into the dun-

Just then, Sonic and Ray start chuckling uncontrollably…… for a few seconds…..

SONIC: Erm… sorry… it’s just that….*laughing*
MIGHTY: WHAT THE (bleep) IS SO FUNNY!?
ROUGE: >_>
SONIC: I’m.. I’m trying not to be an ass, I swear! It’s just that *laughing* Ray, stop laughing!
RAY: I can’t help it! It’s so dumb! *laughing*
AMY: *whispers* Guys, stop!
SONIC: Erm… *deep breath* Lemme get this straight! You *laughs* you got mad…. and threw Mighty into the dungeon…. because you got wet!?
RAY: AAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Blaze blushes in embarrassment.

SILVER: I fail to see the humor.
ROUGE: Likewise.
SONIC: Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m totally outraged! It’s just…. the absurdity of it all! *laughs more* I need to know *laughs* are you…. COMPLETELY insane!?
BLAZE: ……..I might’ve overreacted.
MIGHTY: MY FOOT!
HATHOR: Overreacted!? You threw an innocent man into purgatory! All because he “SAVED” your life!?
BLAZE: ……..
HATHOR: And why did he have to!? Oh I already know the answer! You left for the field of battle once more, haven’t you!?
BLAZE: Our people were dying, I couldn’t just sit by and watch-
HATHOR: Haven’t I told you once before!? If you died in these foolish battles, who would be left to inherit the throne!?
ROUGE: *smiles* Well hopefully, someone with a little more common sense! I’d hate to think what would happen to an entire kingdom if so much as a raindrop leaked through the roof!
HATHOR: …..Mind your tongue, you uppity, winged tramp!
ROUGE: 😠
MIGHTY: O_O
RAY: ……Well that was a little harsh, don’t you think!?
???: I think we should hear her out!

Everyone looks up into a window and sees Knuckles jumping down!

ALL: KNUCKLES!?
SILVER: Oh no!

Hathor stands up!

HATHOR: What the HELL is this!?
BLAZE: What’s an Echidna doing here!?
SONIC: Chill out! He’s with us! He’s cool!
HATHOR: Why you… if I had known that, I would’ve had you all executed from the start!
RAY: SAY WHAT!?
AMY: Just for being associated with him!?
SILVER: I told you, Echidna aren’t welcome here.
KNUCKLES: Then I suppose the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree! It would explain why a nitwit such as yourself would trust the stability of your nation to a petulant CHILD who cannot control her temper!

Everyone gasps!

HATHOR: What did you just say!?
SONIC: Knux, have you lost mind!?
KNUCKLES: Have you lost your spine!? It is an INSULT to believe you are obligated to respect these ungrateful heathens! After what they have done to your friend!?
MIGHTY: >_>
KNUCKLES: I know Mighty well enough to know that his treatment was undeserved! He is a rude, ill-tempered, and selfish individual with no sense of consideration to anyone but himself and his immediate friends and family! He spits in the face of anyone regardless of status! I would never dream of being his ally! And yet, despite his flaws, despite his self-serving attitude, he ensured that no harm would come to you!!! Made it his goal to keep you safe! And you reward him with chains!?
MIGHTY: Are you sure you’re defending me?
KNUCKLES: Perhaps it would be best if you perished in battle! Your mother would be every bit a fool as Ray to hand you the throne! You would do nothing but lead this kingdom to ruin in an instant!

And then Blaze stands up!

BLAZE: ENOUGH!!! You do not get to determine who is worthy of ruling the land! An Echidna cannot verify whether or not a Feline is fit to rule!

Then out of nowhere, Knuckles produce a glass with an ounce of water… and SPLASHES it in Blaze’s face!

ALL: *gasps* ;OoO;
KNUCKLES: Then prove me wrong, your majesty!
MIGHTY: O_O…..Knuckles! What…. the…. hell!?

Blaze then opens her eyes…. slowly wipes her face…. and is pissed beyond belief!

HATHOR: Blaze!? Control yourself!

But she EXPLODES in furious anger!!!

BLAZE: You…. YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!

Her entire body is surrounded in flames, and she immediately charges after Knuckles!

KNUCKLES: Hmph!

His dreds start to glow, and he evades her!

Hehehehehh, hey gais! Guess what!? Its time for UN….. WINNABLE…. BOSS FIGHTS!!!! You’re playing as Blaze and trying to fight Knuckles all across the Kingdom. The problem is he avoids every single attack you throw at him and constantly knocks you around. There are 4 whole rounds. 1 in the castle, in the village square, in the dungeon, and then back out in the village. In the castle, just try to attack normally for 15 seconds until the scene transitions.

Blaze hurls several fireballs at Knuckles, but he dodges them while she makes a few new holes in the wall. And Knuckles escapes through with Blaze giving chase!

HATHOR: BEHAAAAAVE YOURSELVES!!

As they both get outside, Knuckles stands behind a fountain and waits for Blaze to approach! As she gets near, he “bends” the water into a geyser and splashes her entire person!

BLAZE: HRAAAAAAGH! GRRRR!
KNUCKLES: *smiles* Hahahaha! What’s wrong!? Does the little kitten not like to shower!?
BLAZE: I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!!

Round 2 and Blaze has no access to her fire abilities (seeing that she’s been splashed). You’re basically fighting for no given reason. 15 more seconds.

Blaze’s fire starts up again and she holds nothing back! In her feckless attempts to kill Knuckles, she damn near burns down the city!

Sonic and the others rush outside.

SONIC: At this rate, they’ll kill everyone! Amy, can you put out those fires!?
AMY: Sure thing!
SILVER: I’ll begin evacuations! You guys keep our citizens from burning!
MIGHTY: Got it!

While that happens, Blaze chases Knuckles into the dungeon!

KNUCKLES: You fight like a little child with a tantrum! You have no idea what you are doing, do you!?
BLAZE: SHUT UP!

Round 3 in the dungeons…. just 15 more seconds, and then they both storm out of there after making a mess of the place.

Little did they know, they destroyed the cell…. of Zavok!

GARDON: Oh no!
ZAVOK: Ohhhhhh yes!

Zavok stands in a fiery room, with the flames burning off his magical shackles. And with the cell walls destroyed, there was nothing holding him back!

ZAVOK: Well well well! It seems that the tables have turned! I believe it was you that said that there was no escape for me!? Where is your god now!?

He raises his fists above Gardon

*CUT TO BLACK*

GARDON: NOOOOOOOO!

*CUT IN*

Zavok storms the castle, slaughtering everyone in his path, and setting the entire castle ablaze!

ZAVOK: YOU WILL ALL BURN FOR YOUR INSOLENCE! After 100 years, I am free! And you all pay with your very souls!

He continues his rampage until he happens upon the vault! Snatching the bolted doors off, he ventures within and sets his sights on the Sol Gems!

ZAVOK: And now, the secret of the Royal Family is NO MORE!!! GWAHAHAHAHAH!

Back outside, the fight continues with Knuckles and Blaze. Round 4 lasts for half a minute now, but unlike the last 3, this one you can actually hit Knuckles in. But eh, there’s no real winning here.

Afterward, Blaze continues slashing at Knuckles, and hitting nothing but air!

KNUCKLES: My, you have quite the temper!
BLAZE: SILENCE!!
KNUCKLES: Funny thing about anger! Let it consume you….

Knuckles then seemingly vanishes from her sight! Blaze furiously searches her surroundings, looking for any trace of the wily Echidna… until rises up behind her!

KNUCKLES: ….And you lose sight of everything!

Blaze tries to kick him from behind, but Knuckles leaps in front of her… and then uppercuts her into a tree!

BLAZE: *rubs face* You would dare strike a princess!?
KNUCKLES: Any who seek to do harm are not excluded from my fists! Tiara or otherwise! You should know better than to presume such!
BLAZE: *smiles* Presume, huh?

Blaze then tosses a tiny flare toward Knuckles… who merely brushes it aside.

KNUCKLES: A mere ember!? Have you no fight left in you?
BLAZE: Hmph!

Suddenly, Knuckles’s arm rings itself around his neck, and the rest of his body hovers above ground and contorts itself in a most uncomfortable position!

KNUCKLES: ERGH! What sorcery is this!?
BLAZE: Not so haughty now, are you!? That is my spell flare! In the guise of an attack, it lulls all into a false sense of victory before the real terror consumes them! You can’t break of it!

Knuckles does indeed struggle to free himself.

BLAZE: Do you see now that I am no ordinary princess!?
KNUCKLES: *chuckles*
BLAZE: What’s so funny!?
KNUCKLES: Oh I can see it clearly, Princess! Infact…. the entire kingdom can! Look around you!

Blaze does so and sees the carnage that she had wrought. Burning buildings, smoldering bodies, and people screaming and crying in pain and terror. Her sneer turns into horror and disbelief.

BLAZE: …….No!
KNUCKLES: Just add water for a little devastation!

Sonic and the rest of them make it to their position.

SILVER: Princess, you have to stop….
SONIC: Put Knuckles down!
MIGHTY: *looks at Blaze*
BLAZE: *Looks at Mighty*
AMY: Please, you have to calm down!

And then Hathor arrives.

RAY: Ohhhhh (bleep)!
MIGHTY: *whispers* Shut up!
HATHOR: Child….. the city…. it’s burning!
BLAZE: Mother…. I-
HATHOR: *Enraged* THE CITY IS BURNING!!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!!!?

Everyone is silent

RAY: *whispers* I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my life!
???: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Just then, a molten geyser bursts out of the roof of the castle!

HATHOR: WHAT HAPPENED NOW!?

Just then, Zavok LEAPS from the castle, and lands just a few inches from the group!

ZAVOK: Ahh! Fresh air! An atmosphere that is ready to burn!
SONIC: Who the hell is that guy!?
HATHOR: Oh no! The destroyer! He’s free!?
RAY: Red guy with horns!? O_O I KNEW IT!! I TOLD YOU GUYS WE’RE IN HELL!!!!
ZAVOK: Oh, you will all have a taste of hell in due time! But first, I will destroy the Royal Family for what they have done! Starting with that tall wench!
HATHOR: !!!

Silver gets in front of Hathor.

SILVER: YOU WON’T HAVE HER, ZAVOK!!!
KNUCKLES: “Zavok”!? How!?

Silver places up a barrier to shield himself and Hathor from Zavok…. but IT’S NO USE! (:P) Zavok merely punches the barrier to shatter it, and knocks Silver into a brick wall!

BLAZE: Silver!
ZAVOK: Now for you!

Amy then uses a freeze spell on him, but that doesn’t do anything.

AMY: What!? It didn’t work!?
ZAVOK: Silly girl! I am immune to all forms of magic! You are powerless before me! Only the strong can face me!

Sonic steps forward and cracks his knuckles, sending sparks of kinetic energy through the air!

SONIC: Then we do this the hard way! LETS DO THIS, GUYS!

How about some more…. UN…..WINNABLE….. BOSS FIGHTS!? Zavok is impervious to all forms of damage, and spams punches, oval-shaped firebolts, and will often jump and slam the ground with enough force to create geysers of molten lava.

After the fight, everyone is laid out on the ground.

MIGHTY: Now this is a reason…. to be melancholy!
ZAVOK; Feeble mortals! Did you honestly believe your power was enough to stop me!?
HATHOR: If our ancestors could do so, then we will defeat you again!

Irritated by the response, Zavok snatches Hathor by the throat and pins her to a wall!

BLAZE: *reaching out* Mother!
ZAVOK: And how do you see this playing out, Queen!? How do you think it possible to defeat me….. *pulls out Sol Gems* …. without your precious little replicas!?
HATHOR: ….No!

Sonic manages to get to his feet, and brandishes his sword, charging it with all the kinetic energy he’s built up thus far!

SONIC: Hey bub! Lets try that again, eh!?
ZAVOK: *looks back* ……. And what’s this!? Has the maggot found a little toy to fight with!? You might as well face me with a mere butterknife!

He says as he tosses Hathor to the ground.

SONIC: It ain’t the sharpest tool in the bunch, but you’ll bleed all the same when I’m done with you!
ZAVOK: Ah! Bravado! You mortals certainly do love to gas yourselves up before your inevitable fall! I suppose you’ll entertain me for the time being!

Round 2! Now you have to beat him. The ONLY WAY to damage him is through Sonic’s Action Trigger. So spam the HELL out of it in this fight! Zavok still doesn’t let up during the battle, but he’ll keep you moving, meaning free Action Gauge!

Afterward, Sonic and Zavok do even MORE destruction to Sylvania than Blaze and Knuckles in their battle!

During the fight, Sonic manages to cut a deep wound into Zavok’s arm….. which shocks him!

ZAVOK: *holds arm* INCONCEIVABLE! I cannot be harmed by conventional means!! What are you, boy!?
SONIC: *huffs and puffs* Weird feeling, isn’t it, Zavok!? Knowing you’re not the bad ass you thought you were!?
ZAVOK: Perhaps being bound by those chains have sapped some of my strength over the course of a century! No matter!

Zavok holds up the 6 Sol Gems…. and then they float in the air!

SONIC: What are those things?!
HATHOR: NO!!! STOP HIM!!!!
ZAVOK: The very foundation upon which the Royal Family could EVER rule!

And then, the Sol Gems spread across the planet! After that, Zavok himself vanishes in a puff of smoke!

SONIC: Great! He can teleport too.

Everyone else gets off the ground. And Hathor couldn’t be anymore furious!

HATHOR: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!
RAY: Aww man, we got banshees too!?
HATHOR: LOOK AT THIS MESS! THE CITY IS BURNING!!!!! OUR CASTLE IS RUINED!!!!!
RAY: Well look on the bright side! Now you have a great excuse to renovate! The paint job in that castle was really shabby, and all those new sunroofs will let in so much rain, your daughter will have fits of rage everytime you have a shower!

She glares at Ray, causing him to run and hide behind Silver!

RAY: I think you made her mad!
SILVER: What!?
HATHOR: YOU VILE WORMS!!! INGRATES!!!! Give me frogs! Crickets!! ANYTHING but you!!! This is all YOUR DOING! Silver! I demand these horrid beasts be executed!!!
SONIC: Say what!?
SILVER: NO!!!
HATHOR: What!? DID YOU REFUSE MY ORDER!!!!?
ROUGE: Who can blame him!? He knows better than anyone that you’re really upset about being a lousy parent!
HATHOR: One more word out of you, and I will bite out your heart!!!!
ROUGE: Hmph! I guess the apple doesn’t rot far from the tree!
SILVER: Your highness, please! They’re not responsible for what happened here! The true cause was Zavok the Destroyer!
HATHOR: AND WHO…. SET…. HIM… FREE!?
ALL: …..>_>
BLAZE: It was me, mother.

Everyone looks at a somberly Blaze.

HATHOR: What!?
BLAZE: …..I was… emotionally compromised. I lost control and decimated half the city. It was my rage that set him free. This was all my doing! If you must punish anyone, it has to be me!
HATHOR: Perhaps if you were not provoked *points to Knuckles* by that INFIDEL-
BLAZE: I set these chain of events in motion the moment I threw an innocent Mobian in a dungeon. He was right to be angry. They ALL…. have every right to be furious with me.

She then falls to her knees and covers her face.

BLAZE: I did all of this, mother! Do not blame them for the horrors I’ve inflicted upon our people, or the demon I’ve unleashed! Spare them, but if anyone must face execution, then let it be me!
SILVER: Princess, no! There needs to be an heir-
BLAZE: And Sylvania would be better off if I wasn’t on that throne! This kingdom… doesn’t need someone like me leading them.
SILVER: But you can’t-
HATHOR: SILENCE!!!
SILVER: O_O;
ALL: >_>
HATHOR: Is that how you truly feel, daughter!?
BLAZE: It is what I know, mother.
HATHOR: ………….

Hathor looks up to the sky.

HATHOR: Zavok has taken the Sol Gems and spread them across Soleanna! Without them, our rule means nothing!
SONIC: Huh?
HATHOR: If you’re so keen on taking responsibility for that, then you are hereby EXILED!
MIGHTY: WHAT!?
HATHOR: UNTIL… you recover the Sol Gems! Do not EVER… show your face around again…. until you bring them back!! That… is your task!!!
BLAZE: Yes, mother.
HATHOR: *looks at group* As for the rest of you…. GET OUT OF MY CITY!!!
SONIC: Oh that’s rich! We didn’t do anything to cause you grief, and we’re still getting the boot!?
HATHOR: You have allied yourself with an Echidna! By default, you are an enemy to Sylvania!
KNUCKLES: And you thought I was strict!

Hathor then leaves for her castle

HATHOR: I bid you all adeu!
SONIC: Hold on!

And Sonic follows her.

SILVER: I can’t believe this is happening!
AMY: It’s like I said, Silver. Even if you have everything perfectly, things can still go horribly wrong. And it doesn’t even have to be your fault.

They all look at Blaze

MIGHTY: …Blaze.
BLAZE: I’m so sorry, Mighty. You didn’t deserve that.
MIGHTY: …..Yeah, I didn’t. Still…. jeez. What are you gonna do now?
BLAZE: …….Are you not angry with me?
MIGHTY: Far as I can see, you already got yours! So I’m good!
BLAZE: ….I suppose that’s fair. *sighs* All I can do now is… as she commanded.
SILVER: You’re going to look for the Sol Gems?
RAY: Ain’t that what she said?
BLAZE: I won’t be allowed back into the Kingdom unless I do. And… they’re too important to leave outside of the castle.
KNUCKLES: Well then, if Karma has finished settling in, you need to explain how and why you held a demigod captive!
ROUGE: Demigod!?
MIGHTY: Give her some space, Knux. She’s already having a rough time!

Everyone then looks at Mighty strangely.

MIGHTY: ..What?

And then for some reason, Ray blasts Mighty in the face!

AMY: RAY! WHAT THE HELL!?
RAY: What have you done with the real Mighty!?
MIGHTY: *holds face* You piece of shi-
RAY: UH OH!

Mighty then POUNCES on Ray, and they’re both engulfed in a dust cloud of combat!

SILVER: You all have a weird concept of friendship.

Back in control of Sonic, head to the castle. The NPCs here will all talk about Blaze’s outrage, and be equally as terrified of her. Some will even suggest that she should be executed just for losing control, suggesting that’s how they USED to handle rogue Queens of the past. Some will note that they saw a Red Echidna, and would imply that she was merely doing her duty by defending the kingdom from their historical enemies. And they all hope she killed him.
Honey will also mention that she was shocked to see Blaze act so wildly as she was always “so disciplined and dignified”. She’ll also ask about Mighty again, though she’ll try to make a pass at Sonic.

SONIC: You work at a tavern, why don’t you try some of your own product if you’re so thirsty?
HONEY: …I don’t understand. I’m so busy focusing on your green eyes!
SONIC: Oh brother!

*Castle Sylvania*

Hathor tries to survey the damage.

HATHOR: Where is Gardon!?
GUARD: He’s… he’s gone, your majesty. His body is burnt to a crisp.
HATHOR: ….BLAST!!!! My most trusted bodyguard!?
SONIC: Hey, your highness! Mind if I have a word!?
HATHOR: With every ounce of my bone, yes!
SONIC: Look, I know you’re going through a lot right now-
HATHOR: Then leave!
SONIC: Why!? We really had nothing to do with what happened! And you’re blowing us off over Knuckles!?
HATHOR: Though she admits her faults, it was your friend who provoked her into a rage! *sighs* Then again, she should’ve learned to control her temper years ago!
SONIC: Then don’t take it out on us! We’re the innocent party here!
HATHOR: Being associated with that Echidna does not do us any good!
SONIC: Oh I get it! It’s politics! You cats hate Echidnas for some bizarre reason that you won’t tell anyone, so you’re saving face by disassociating with those who are friends with one! You don’t want anyone thinking you’re offering aid to your historical enemies as people would start questioning your loyalties and be in a hurry to force you into giving up the throne! And you’re using the excuse that “Oh our friend pissed off your daughter, so he has to go!” to hide the real reason you’re sending us away!
HATHOR: ……………*sits on throne* Very perceptive for one so brazen!
SONIC: We had politicians back where we live. They weren’t slick either!
HATHOR: Well then you know why you must leave then, right?
SONIC: No! From the way things are looking, you’re gonna need all the help you can get! Your city’s been ripped to shreds, you lost some family jewels, and the Gaian are in your faces! Now you got some weird red guy waltzing about the planet! You need us more than ever!
HATHOR: I will not risk the stability of Soleanna for the sake of allies!
SONIC: …….No offense… but are you stupid!?
HATHOR: *raises eyebrow*
SONIC: You’re saying you’re going to risk the SAFETY of your people just to uphold a grudge!? It doesn’t seem like you guys even have an Echidna population to know how good or bad they are!

HATHOR: ………Do you know of the history of the Hedgehogs?
SONIC: What’s that got to do with anything!?
HATHOR: Answer, Sonic!
SONIC: ………All I know is they’re uptight about not using super powers, but will turn a blind eye to magic for some reason.
HATHOR: It is because they actually feared persecution by the Echidnas!
SONIC: What!?
HATHOR: You see, I understand my own history! The Felines are not indigenous to this planet at all! This isn’t even our dimension! We likely came from the same world you hailed from! Our feline ancestors wished to explore worlds beyond the boundaries of their plane of existence! But those Echidnas held everyone back from their potential, fearing that anyone else would dare become stronger than they are! The babylonians of the past would express how selfish they were, how they nearly starved to death because they refused to assist them! Their paranoia was more important than offering aid to others! The Echidnas are self-centered, self-righteous breed of infidels! Far more eager to regulate everyone else rather than keep to themselves!
SONIC: *Whispers* Wow, that does sound like Knuckles! *Aloud* Look, there’s only one of him, and more of us, so he can’t really do any damage right now!
HATHOR: Did your parents ever teach you the history of the Hedgehogs? Normally, your kind wouldn’t be so quick to brush it aside!
SONIC: ….Never met em. I’m an orphan.
HATHOR: ……..*smiles* Well now! That puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it!? You have nothing that directly links you to other Hedgehogs! You can’t trace yourself back to any point in time that would give you a perspective on where you stand today! It’s easy to brush aside anyone else’s history when you HAVE none of your own to lay claim to!
SONIC: ……………….
HATHOR: Hahahahahahahahaaha! Your inconsideration speaks volumes! You have no real sense of pride! No sense of being! And yet you can stand here today and dictate what I should and should not forget!? I know these individuals too well! They have no understanding of themselves, so all they do is find ways to distract themselves from the lack of being! They develop hero complexes, start believing they can venture into the arts, or pointless pursuits of danger just so they can feel alive!

Sonic is visibly angry here.

HATHOR: Just accept it! You have nothing! No pride, no sense of worth…. you’re just a blank slate wandering aimlessly through life trying to fill the void in your soul!

After that…. Sonic storms out of the castle.

At this point, you take control of Sonic again. And your goal is to find Mighty at the edge of town. Doing so will prevent you from coming back to Sylvania for quite some time, so you might want to buy up any costumes you didn’t already purchase NOW rather than later. You can go back to talking to NPCs, but they’ll comment on how pissed off Sonic looks. Honey will offer you a drink to take your mind off as well. 😛

Anywho, find Mighty to get to the next scene.

MIGHTY: There you are! ……..What’s up your ass?
SONIC: I’m… I’m fine, Mighty. What are we doing now?
MIGHTY: …….Well, we sort of agreed to help Blaze in finding these Sol Gems.
SONIC: That’s oddly charitable of you.
MIGHTY: Save it. You in?
SONIC: I don’t know.
MIGHTY: You… what the!? You’d be the first moron to jump at the chance to help people! Now you got reservations!? The hell is wrong with you!?
SONIC: …..Say… Mighty. Do you think of yourself as a “Blank Slate”?
MIGHTY: What the hell does that mean?
SONIC: … Nevermind. Lets get out of here.

*Pioneer 12*

Everyone boards a sizable boat.

SILVER: Ah good, Sonic’s back! Everyone was getting worried.
SONIC: ……So what is all this?
SILVER: This is the Pioneer 12! The Royal Family’s personal traveling vessel!
AMY: It seems brand new!
SILVER: …….It’s never been used.
ROUGE: So it was for decoration? Must be nice to be a Queen! You can be as wasteful as you want to be with all your riches!
BLAZE: It’s not that. The Pioneer series was intended as a one time use vessel for one’s rite of passage to become Queen. This wasn’t supposed to be used until my mother either dies or abdicates the throne.
RAY: What’s “abdicate”?
AMY: To give up one’s seat of power.
BLAZE: Correct. Instead, we’re using this to fix my mistake.
ROUGE: *sighs* Well, for a royal brat, you at least own up to your mistakes. A lot more than what I can say for a lot of Kings.
KNUCKLES: If I may ask now?
SILVER: About what?
KNUCKLES: That Demigod who attacked us! I heard from that ridiculously tall Queen that he was “freed”. How were you able to capture him!?
SILVER: You mean Zavok?
AMY: That thing is a demigod!?
KNUCKLES: Yes. He is what is known as a “Zeti”. Ubermensch spirits who balance the cosmos. Zavok… is the most powerful and dangerous of them all.
MIGHTY: How many are there?
KNUCKLES: Tens of thousands! Only 6 have ever been recorded by our ancestors. They used to be the protectors of 6 out of 7 of the original Chaos Emeralds.
RAY: Wow! If we had to deal with 6 of those creeps, we’d NEVER have to worry about anyone getting their hands on the Chaos Emeralds! That one guy alone would be enough to make anyone think twice!
MIGHTY: No kidding! I’ve never been hit so hard that I could feel pain passed my shell!
AMY: Wait, does this mean your ancestors were able to defeat them!?
KNUCKLES: I don’t know. Nothing beyond the events surrounding the perpetual Chaos has ever been recorded in our history.
SILVER: But if they know about the Zeti, then it only means they have encountered them before!
KNUCKLES: Even so, Zavok’s appearance here means that this planet was intended to be destroyed eons ago! How has that not happened?
BLAZE: 100 years ago, my grandmother fought in battle against Zavok. Using the Sol Gems, they were able to stand up against his might, and overpower him. However, they could not kill him. So instead, he was sealed away with magical chains that paralyzed him for decades. He did not have access to his overwhelming power, and he would not have been a threat so long as he remained there.
SONIC: Now he’ll finish what he started.
SILVER: But why spread the Sol Gems across the planet? Why not just destroy them outright?
ROUGE: Probably to serve as a diversion.
SILVER: A diversion?
ROUGE: He knows the Sylvanians better than we do, and figures they would be more desperate to hold onto the Sol Gems than to deal with him personally. So this way, he can bide his time and launch any number of attacks across the world while everyone else is on a wild goose chase!
BLAZE: It’s true! Those were the first items he went after!
AMY: What are the Sol Gems? What makes them so special?
BLAZE: …….To be honest, I don’t really know. I was always told that they were never to be tampered with.
KNUCKLES: I sensed Chaos Energy from those gems. Perhaps they are this world’s version of the Chaos Emeralds?
AMY: Really?
SILVER: What exactly are Chaos Emeralds?
KNUCKLES: Powerful and dangerous relics that have the power to reshape reality was the bearers see fit!
SILVER: And you said the Zeti had protected them before?
KNUCKLES: Yes. Perhaps… he is doing the same with the Sol Gems?
BLAZE: …….then why not keep them on hand? Why disperse them in such a way that would lose them forever?

SONIC: Well, whatever the reason, we won’t find out just by drifting out on the docks! What are we waiting for!? Lets go already!
SILVER: Hold on! We don’t know the first place to look!
SONIC: Knuckles, you can sense Chaos Energy, Right?
KNUCKLES: Well… yes, but-
SONIC: Then you’ll be the radar!
KNUCKLES: Hold on, Sonic! I cannot sense that energy from a distance!
AMY: Actually, I might be able to help with that!
KNUCKLES: What!?
AMY: Using magic, I can boost one’s senses to…. ludicrous levels! Though we’d …. *blushes* have to hold hands the entire time.
SONIC, KNUCKLES, & ROUGE: NO!!!!
RAY: >_>
MIGHTY: Well, I guess we’ll never find them!
SILVER: Why are you all against the idea?
KNUCKLES: I will not trust my being to the whims of Rozealo’s magic! Who knows what devilry she would curse me with!
MIGHTY: Here we go.
AMY: Devilry!? What’s wrong with you, Knuckles!? You think I’m actually going to hurt you!?
KNUCKLES: Surface dwellers have a saying of “better safe than sorry!”
SILVER: Guys, stop! We don’t have time to argue! Please Knuckles! You may not trust us, but none of us have any other options to consider! I promise no harm will come to you!
KNUCKLES: *groans* Fine… I feel as though I will be violated!
AMY: Don’t be silly! It’ll be fine!

Alright! After that long ass cutscene (thanks to moi, I know), you take control of Ray here. Pioneer 12 is a pretty small boat, but there are enough rooms on-board where you can find the crew hanging out. They’ll just talk about their current situation. Sonic is moody, Mighty is… well… Mighty, Rouge thinks Amy is a scheming bitch for an unknown reason, Knuckles hates the idea of being… “violated”, Amy wishes Knux would trust her, Blaze is depressed and won’t talk to anyone…. and talking to Silver takes you to the next zone. He and Amy hold Knuckles’s hands, and he pinpoints a Sol Gem in the “Plant Kingdom” Zone from Rush 2.

Or was it “Botanical Kingdom”? I’m getting mixed up with Zero gravity. Anywho, I’d probably have “THE WICKED WILD” play for this zone. As expected, the Gaian are beginning to expand in it’s hordes and enemy types. The Killer Bees are in full force here, and will often travel in groups. And since they can shoot barbs in rapid succession, you’d be overrun with bee stings. Course, they only show up in dark caves. General gimmicks from that… Dinosaur zone in SR would be kept. The dinosaurs themselves wouldn’t be in it as they never made sense in SR to begin with, plus… Dragons>>>>Dinosaurs!
Probably have Act 1 take place primarily outdoors, while Act 2 would be kept within a cave up until the very end.

After that, the group runs into what seems to be a dead end.

KNUCKLES: Strange, I could’ve sworn I felt that energy here!
SONIC: Oh, I guess he was right! You 2 might’ve screwed up his senses.
AMY: Sonic, it’s bad enough he thinks we’re trying to hurt him!
SILVER: There’s no way we could’ve impaired him!
KNUCKLES: Wait… there seems to be a trail. A large concentration of that energy remains here…. but this trail seems…. recent. New…
ROUGE: As in someone took it.
MIGHTY: Damn! We were so close!
RAY: Sure! Because following a trail is just soooooo hard!!!
KNUCKLES: The fool is right! We haven’t lost it yet! Follow me!

They all do so… until a pebble smacks Blaze in the face!

BLAZE: Ow! Hey!
SILVER: Princess, what happened?
BLAZE: You mean “Blaze, what happened”.
MIGHTY: Where’d that pebble come from!?

Just then, Blaze’s foot is snagged up into a tree in a rope!

BLAZE: ACK!
MIGHTY: BLAZE!!!
???: ATTACK!!!!

4 Koala kids jump out of the trees and try to attack the group with wooden swords, only to be stopped by Silver who shields the group via a barrier.

???: Hey! That’s cheating!
AMY: They’re…. they’re kids!
BLAZE: What is the meaning of this!? What are you children doing!?

The 4 all join up together in a weird pose.

KYLOK: I’m Kylok!
MUZY: I’m Muzy!
TABBY: I’m Tabby!
SETTER: And I’m Setter!
ALL: AND WE’RE THE COCONUT CREW! WE DON’T TAKE KINDLY TO YOU!
MIGHTY: Aw jeez, they have their own poses!?
RAY: AWWWWW Aren’t they cute!? They think they’re a threat!
SILVER: I assume you think we’re trespassing?
TABBY” We don’t think! We see all!
KYLOK: You Kitty Cats are all big meanies!
MUZY: You took over the world and tortured our great great great great great great great great great-
ROUGE: Are you done?
MUZY: …..Great great grandfather!
ALL: THE AWESOME DAIKUN!!
BLAZE: Daikun!?
SILVER: Uh oh!
SONIC: Uh oh what?
SILVER: This must be their way of revenge!
MIGHTY: Oh please! They’re just (bleep)damn kids! What can they do to us!?
KYLOK: And you brought those monsters to our home!
AMY: Monsters!?
ROUGE: He means the Gaian, sweety.
SETTER: What’s a Gaian?

Another Koala comes out of the trees.

COLONEL: ALRIGHT! That’s enough! All of you, back in the trees!
TABBY: But Dad, we-
COLONEL: BACK IN THE TREES! NOW!!!
TABBY: Awww!

The 4 run back into the trees.

COLONEL: I’m deeply sorry that! I’ve no idea what got into them! Did they hurt you!?
MIGHTY: They just wasted good time, that’s all.
AMY: Mighty!
KNUCKLES: Harsh as his response was, he is correct! We still have that Sol Gem to find!
COLONEL: Sol Gem? Hmm… now that you mention it, one of my boys did bring home a rather strange crystal.
BLAZE: What!?
COLONEL: If that’s all you’re looking for, please… I can give it back to you! I just don’t want any trouble!

Silver gets Blaze down via psychokinesis

SILVER: We’re not here to make any trouble.
BLAZE: One of your sons mentioned Daikun. Are you all his descendants?
COLONEL: Why… yes, we are! But I harbor no ill will toward you or anyone of the royal family! What’s done is done!
BLAZE: ………Your children possess more courage than you do.
ROUGE: *scoffs* Well that’s ONE way to build good will amongst the people!
BLAZE: No, I didn’t intend for that to be an insult. It’s only apparent that he does not wish for any conflict.
COLONEL: Well of course not! We’re powerless compared to the might of Sylvania! But what happened with Daikun is centuries ago! It doesn’t affect us now.

Then one of the kids pops out of the trees.

TABBY: THAT’S NOT TRUE!
COLONEL: Tabby! Get back inside!
TABBY: If it wasn’t for those stupid cats, we’d be allowed to make our own rules! We wouldn’t have to live in the woods! Those dirty kitties get to live like kings, but we gotta starve everyday! Daikun wanted to fight against that, but-
COLONEL: ENOUGH! GET BACK INSIDE!
TABBY: If he won, we wouldn’t be living like this!

Tabby goes back inside as ordered. Though, his ranting causes Blaze some discomfort.

COLONEL: You’ll have to forgive him. They’re all frustrated, you see.
BLAZE: I am aware of what our first Queen had done. And… I have no idea how to make amends for what had happened. At least in regards to what your son had mentioned.
COLONEL: Don’t worry about him. No one can change the past.
SONIC: *sighs* Well, when you guys are done living in the past, I’ll be on the ship.

Sonic speeds off, leaving everyone confused.

RAY: … what’s his deal?
MIGHTY: Beats me, he’s been acting weird since we started that cruise.
BLAZE: He is right about one thing. *to Colonel* Though I’d love to converse more, I require the Sol Gem in your possession. It’s for an important mission.
COLONEL: Of course! I’ll be right back!

*Space Colony Ark*

Tails finds Emerl knocked out on the floor of the lab!

TAILS: Emerl! Hey Emerl! Wake up!
EMERL: *eyes light up* ……..Prower…… Prower.
TAILS: Hey, are you ok?
EMERL: Systems are… stable. I seem to have suffered a power surge.

Emerl looks up to see that Metal’s body is gone.

EMERL: I thought I encountered something in that closet.
TAILS: Maybe it was a mouse?
EMERL: Too big and shiny to be a mouse. Irrelevant. Any progress made on your analysis?
TAILS: Well… not really. But I did manage to make something pretty cool!

They head back to the main control hub where Tails had 2 bracelets on the dashboard.

TAILS: So you remember all that liquid metal on Tristar’s warship?
EMERL: Yes.
TAILS: It’s highly advanced technology! This metal could be controlled and reshaped into any sort of device on the fly! And would function as though it always were!
EMERL: As in a transformative substance?
TAILS: Exactly! Tristar used a small but complex radio frequency to control it. And it’s where those many arms come from!
EMERL: Those giant control arms were all liquid metal?
TAILS: Yep! So I figured I could probably use this to my advantage! You see those 2 bracelets on the dashboard?
EMERL: Yes.
TAILS: Contained within each of them is one quart of the liquid. And the outer trims are laced with wires that emit the correct frequency! So…

He puts one of the bracelets on.

TAILS: By tuning to the right frequency, I can make this!

And the bracelet spawns the Arm Cannon from Sonic Battle!

TAILS: Pretty cool, huh!?
EMERL: Can it actually fire?

They both head outside, and Tails shoots the cannon like normal!

TAILS: Yep!
EMERL: Impressive. You have a new tool in your arsenal. But… how does this help your investigation?
TAILS: I know, I got sidetracked. I mean… you were taking so long so I…
EMERL: ……..Then lets continue.
TAILS: Yeah, lets!

MESSAGE: Tails can now use Action Triggers! Press Triangle/X to blow your enemies away with devastating fire power!

Course at this point, you’d only be able to use them in stage select until later on. 😛

*Pioneer 12*

Once again controlling Ray, you can go around the boat talking to the crew. Mighty is all “stupid kids”, Knuckles is concerned with Sonic’s behavior, Amy is all “those poor koalas”, Rouge-

ROUGE: Figures all the ugly parts of her history would be kept from her. Blaze seems to be taking it hard! It must hurt to know the past isn’t as flowery as you’d want it to be.

Blaze is confused as to why a Sol Gem would be in an area where the descendants of Daikun would reside. In any case, talk to Silver to start the next zone.

SILVER: Ok, we have one of the Sol Gems!
BLAZE: This is the Blue Gem, which can heighten one’s senses to perfection. You could see, hear, and feel things that no one else can, from miles away, even.
MIGHTY: Miles away!? This means Knux doesn’t have to hold hands anymore?
SILVER: Maybe.
KNUCKLES: If it means I no longer have to risk being probed by those twins, then it’s worth a shot!

Thus, Knuckles was able to detect the next zone being the “Machine Labrynth” …………….I… actually…. didn’t think about this place much >_>…. I guess this will just be filler…

At the end of the zone, they find another Sol Gem, this time being the Red Gem.

KNUCKLES: Found it. *picks up gem* So what do you suppose this one does?
BLAZE: The Red Sol Gem gives one an immense boost in physical strength. One’s prowess could rival that of the Gods.
KNUCKLES: So it’s a cheat?
MIGHTY: Sounds useful to me.
SONIC: Ok, 2 down, 4 to go!
BLAZE: Wait!

Blaze looks around the factory.

BLAZE: I know this place. In our texts, it was described that a large factory existed during the ancient Sol Wars. It was constructed in a single day by the warlock known as Shoga Rozealo.
AMY: What!? Really!?
SILVER: Our ancestor created this in a single day!?
KNUCKLES: All the better to leave with great haste!
SONIC: I agree!
ROUGE: Actually, I’d love to know just how he did this! This place is far too large to take one day to create!
???: You’re questioning the prowess of a sorcerer.

They all turn around to find Mephilis standing atop a device.

MEPHILIS: That status alone should grant you all the answers necessary. Anything is possible with magic on hand!
KNUCKLES: It’s you!
RAY: You know creepo over there!?
KNUCKLES: I met him earlier during my personal travels. He seeks the destruction of this planet!
BLAZE: What!?
SONIC: That’s all I needed to hear!

Sonic brandishes his sword.

MEPHILIS: It is best not to be so hasty, young one. Know ye enemy before ye strike!
SILVER: Is it true what he says!? That you wish ruin upon our world!?
MEPHILIS: Ruin would be liberation! You saw it for yourselves, no? The poor family that has to live in the woods due to the conquest of the entire planet? Of course, that was eons ago! Why has such a standard been maintained? Was it not true that the Koalas made peace with the Feline?
BLAZE: It’s entirely possible that many groups did not accept our rule.
MEPHILIS: And you say this as though your rule is legitimate and absolute. Refusing to acknowledge that it came about as a direct result of conquest! And yet…. I sense uncertainty within your tone! You believe it was only Leanna that was the tyrant of Soleanna? Your lineage is for more corrupt beyond that! Why else would you yourself…. punish others for a minor grievance? One that only you would see as problematic!?
BLAZE: !!!
MEPHILIS: The seeds of a tyrant are within you. Coming into power would be the worst decision for the whole world!
SONIC: Alright, I’ve heard enough! You got until the count of 5 to beat feet, or *points sword at Meph* I’m gonna carve you a real mouth!
MEPHILIS: HAHAHAHAHHAHA! Your body guards are certainly foolish! *To Sonic* Surely, the bravado you spout is a result of your feelings of inadequacy!
SONIC: Inadequate nothing! You don’t know a thing about me!
MEPHILIS: You’re right. I don’t. Which means you must not be very significant in the world stage! The corrupt and tyrannical always rely on those that are eager to make their mark on the world to serve them, as they will be too focused on their glory to care about morals or even their lives! Merely a blank slate trying to make a name for himself.
SONIC: Why you…

Blaze then steps forward

BLAZE: I don’t know who or what you are! But if you think you can threaten my kingdom while I still draw breath, you are surely mistaken! You won’t be leaving this island alive!
MIGHTY: No doubt!
SILVER: For the sake of Soleanna, we will destroy you!

Now, fighting Mephilis here, you can either win or lose the fight. All it would do is slightly change the next scene. Eitherway, this one would be a tedious fight. Think of this fight in the same way you would infinity Minijon from MMX6. Everytime you hit him, he starts spawning more assholes to fight you with. The clones do all the actual fighting while Mephilis tries to keep his distance, and they attack either by scratching you or throwing blackened projectiles at you. And with a room full of bastards, you don’t have any room to maneuver or gather lost rings.
There would be a trick to the fight, however. There is a countdown as it is a 1-minute fight. Don’t attack Mephilis at all, and you get the “winning” version of the next cutscene by default. You can just run around the whole area and not do any real fighting, and you’d win by time out! Probably have a trophy called “An Idle victory!”… or “Well that was Anticlimactic!”

After that, you’d get one of 2 versions of the next scene. Either Mephilis is backed into a corner, or the gang is on the ground. Because I personally am tired of the heroes getting their asses beat, lets go with the winning one! 😛

Mephilis falls onto a machine, holding his arm in pain.

MEPHILIS: *coughs* Hahahahahah! Impressive! Seems I have under-estimated your power!
SONIC: We’re used to that by now!
BLAZE: Will you yield now, demon!?
MEPHILIS: You ask if a demon would bow to a false God?
BLAZE: No. I “demand” that you surrender to the Queen of Sylvania!
MEPHILIS: Ahh, familiar cries. One that will fall on deaf ears!

The crystalized demon hurls a ball of dark energy at Blaze! However, Sonic tackles her out of the way at the last minute and takes the brunt of the attack.

However, he is unharmed.

SONIC: Huh?
MEPHILIS: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!
SONIC: What’s… so funny? I don’t feel any…. ergh!
AMY: Sonic!?

Then, Sonic wraps his arms around himself and shake uncontrollably!

SONIC: Hey! Ergh….
MIGHTY: WHAT’S WRONG!?
SONIC: ERGH…. ARRGHGH!

Suddenly, a large, crystal spike pops out of his shoulder!

Yeah, I was watching an episode of Choujin Sentai Jetman (I think it was a 2 parter) and it was one of the most FUCKED UP episodes where townspeople, and Gai the Black Condor had these crystals sprout out of their bodies in gruesome ways, and they’re screaming in pain. And then I said “Hey!” 😛

Anywho, everyone behind Sonic was freaked the fuck out!

RAY: YAAAAAAAAA!
AMY: OH MY GOD!! SONIC!!!
MEPHILIS: This is the price you pay for protecting your future tyrant!

A few more shards sprout out of his body, causing Sonic to collapse in pain!

SONIC: AHH! OH!!!
KNUCKLES: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE, YOU DEVIL!?

And then Mephilis vanishes! Everyone rushes to Sonic’s aid as more shards spring out of his body! Sonic can’t even speak!

MIGHTY: HE’S DYING!!!
AMY: NO!!!
BLAZE: Hold on!

Blaze uses a spell flare on Sonic… and completely freezes him!

SILVER: What did you do!?
BLAZE: We wouldn’t have time to discover what is causing this. So I put him into suspended animation. But this will only last for 3 days. We need to get him back on the ship! Now!

*Pioneer 12*

Sonic is place on a bed while everyone discusses what to do with him.

AMY: The curse placed on him is called “Dark Spire”. It’s whats causing those shards to sprout out of his body!
SILVER: And it keeps going until the inflicted party eventually dies!
RAY: Can’t you guys get rid of it?!
SILVER: It’s too advanced! Whoever that phantom was must be extremely powerful! There’s no way I can reverse this.
AMY: Me neither! Oh god, how did this happen!?
RAY: He pushed Blaze out of the way, and he got blasted!
BLAZE: Even after what I’ve done, he sacrificed himself…. for me?

Mighty then thinks back to his nightmare where everyone he knows had perished. And then Mighty starts panicking!

MIGHTY: Stupid, stupid, stupid! He’s going to die, and there’s nothing we can do about it! *rapid breathing* And then we’re all next! We’re all going to die, aren’t we!? And we can’t stop it! *hyperventilates* DAMMIT! DAMMIIIIIIIIT! I can’t do this anymore!!!! WE NEED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!

And then Rouge slaps the hell out of him!

MIGHTY: EH!?
ROUGE: PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!! What’s wrong with you!?
MIGHTY: ….But… but Sonic-
ROUGE: He’s not… dead…. yet! If you panicked this easily, you would’ve distanced yourself from him a long time ago! You should be used to this. *To Blaze* You got any “cure” spells, Princess?
BLAZE: Uh… er…. Nothing that actually solves this problem. But… we have 3 days to find a cure. Or else…. he won’t make it.

Back to playing as Ray, and everyone on board is concerned about Sonic. Commenting that he looks to be in a lot of pain, Knuckles trying to figure out who Mephilis is and what his motives are, and Blaze still concerned over the placement of the Sol Gems. Anyway, talk to Silver again for the next Zone.

“Coral Cave”. Again, another place I didn’t think on. >_> Sorry? That said, Ray and Amy won’t be playable here as they’re busy looking after Sonic. I’d probably take out that damn minecart section. It wasn’t fun or tedious, it was just boring. Lets copy off of Super Mario RPG while we’re at it! 😛 I kid. The Mario fetish didn’t start until Colors, We all know this.

After that, Mighty manages to find the Cyan Gem.

MIGHTY: Hey, I think I found another one!
SILVER: Yes! Great job!
MIGHTY: So, any info on what this one does?

Blaze doesn’t respond.

MIGHTY: Hello!? Soleanna to Blaze!
AMY: Blaze?

Blaze then goes into the cavern where they found the gem. Littered across the walls are carvings.

BLAZE: these markings… they were made by the original Sol Clan!
KNUCKLES: Sol Clan?
BLAZE: The faction of felines that were originally blessed by the planet’s sun god, Solaris!
SILVER: It was the Sol Clan that founded the Sylvanian Dynasties, by which the Queen and Princess are descended from. Originally, they were the protectors of the feline race, and single handedly took on the Gaian by themselves.
RAY: Without backup!?
BLAZE: Yes. At the time of their conception, the Gaian were small in number, and generally very weak. The Sol Clan had possessed pyrokinetic abilities. Given that the Gaian were naturally weak to fire, the Sol Clan made excellent opponents for them.
KNUCKLES: So the Sol Clan came to rule the planet through might alone?
BLAZE: You make it sound so wrong. Given that they were the defenders of an entire species, it was only natural that they be given more sway over the others.

Mighty then looks at a pair of “axes”.

BLAZE: What are you doing, Mighty?
MIGHTY: These the weapons they used?
BLAZE: …..Yes. They could channel their pyrokinesis through them.
MIGHTY: *picks one up* Still looks sharp. Huh?

He sees prongs on the backsides of the axes. And then decides to stick them together.

MIGHTY: Damn! I bet they had a lot of fun making weapons back then!
BLAZE: *crosses arms* I see you’re having fun with our ancient relics!
MIGHTY: I wasn’t gonna take it! Then again, you do owe me.
BLAZE: *sighs* I suppose. Perhaps if you ever do return home, it would make for a nice souvenir.
MIGHTY: Thanks!
SILVER: Princess, they already possess a sword. Are you sure you want to give another relic away?
BLAZE: We have more than enough relics to recount our history. And once again, my name is “Blaze”!

Blaze turns around and walks back… until…

MIGHTY: Hey, why does that bother you so much?
BLAZE: What?
MIGHTY: Him calling you “Princess”?
SILVER: Er…
BLAZE: …..There’s…. there’s nothing wrong. It’s merely a preference.
MIGHTY: No, it’s bugging the hell out of you! You keep having to remind him of your first name! What is it!? You want him to see you as a normal person or something!?
SILVER: Please, don’t trouble yourself with this. There are more important things than what I address her as?
BLAZE: Yes. It’s not an important issue.
MIGHTY: Neither was this cave! Didn’t stop you from dwelling on it!
SILVER & BLAZE: ……….
ROUGE: *smiles* Aww, maybe she’s just hiding her lust for him behind a petty issue like name calling!
BLAZE: *blush* What!? Don’t be ridiculous! I will never think of him in such a way!
SILVER: And… even if that were the case, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to have an affair with the princess, so-
BLAZE: *fire* DAMMIT SILVER!!!!

Everyone is stunned by her outburst!!

BLAZE: What does me being a Princess have anything to do with your feelings!?
SILVER: Er… nothing, but-
BLAZE: Then what’s wrong with you!? Why is it so hard for you to refer to me by my own name!?
SILVER: It’s not, but-
BLAZE: Then say it! “Blaze!” Not “Princess”! Not “Your Highness” or “Majesty”, just Blaze!!! Ever since you’ve become the “Pacifier of all Evil”, you became so distant from me! What makes now so special that we can never-
SILVER: IT’S NOT THAT SIMPLE!!!!

In his outburst, Silver nearly shakes the whole cave with Psycho Power! Blaze’s expression is shocked.

MIGHTY: Yo, CHILL! You’ll bring this whole place down!
BLAZE: ………
SILVER: …….You wouldn’t…. understand.
BLAZE: …………… Q_Q At this rate, I never will!

And she hurries out of the cave.

MIGHTY: Blaze!
SILVER: ……..
ROUGE: So… is this your fault mine?
MIGHTY: You’re not helping at all, you know that?
KNUCKLES: Not to be inconsiderate, but we need to head back. We still don’t know what that particular Sol Gem does, and we don’t risk losing it on-board.

Knuckles and Rouge immediately leave.

MIGHTY: *scoffs* It’d be funny if this thing could actually cure Sonic.

And he leaves shortly there after.

MESSAGE: Mighty can now use Action Triggers! Press Triangle/X to toss axes like boomerangs, or combine them into one double-sided axe for devastating attacks! Also, some of Mighty’s normal attacks are changed due to acquiring these weapons. Would you like to play the Tutorial? [Yes] [No]

*Pioneer 12*

Again, playing as Ray, Amy is still legit concerned over Sonic, Blaze is not in the mood to speak, Knuckles lets you know it’s only 2 more days until Blaze’s spell wears off, Rouge commits on Silver and Blaze’s relationship, and Mighty just hopes he didn’t create a schism between the 2. Silver himself isn’t in the mood to tell you what the next destination is as he himself is upset. Course, that doesn’t stop the next cutscene from playing.

Ray sits outside wondering if Sonic is going to live or not when Silver enters the area.

SILVER: Ray?
RAY: That’s my name!
SILVER: ……I don’t understand. Everyone else on the ship is in despair. Yet you seem to be taking everything. How do you keep such a positive attitude?
RAY: Simple! I just learned to…… not give a damn!
SILVER: >_>
RAY: 😀
SILVER: >_>
RAY: Oh, staring contest, eh!? *blinks* CURSES! I lost!
SILVER: It’s just that…. your friend could be a goner, no one is willing to talk to each other either because of anger or general anxiety… and you seem to be so happy. Everything that could go wrong… has gone wrong! Does that not make you worry?
RAY: …..Maybe!
SILVER: Maybe!?
RAY: A wise man once said “When life gives you lemons, you EAT THEM and love em!”
SILVER: …..I’m not sure I follow.
RAY: It’s supposed to mean… uh… oh yeah! If things go wrong, try to make the best of it… or think o f the rights of this wrong!
SILVER: >_>
RAY: Ok uh…. Lemons may be bitter…. but they’re still good for you! Except for your teeth. But good for the body!
SILVER: ….Are the lemons… supposed to represent a bad situation?
RAY: Indeed! Since they’re so bitter!
SILVER: But I like lemons!
RAY: Oh. Mighty’s right, you do have bad taste. Alright how do I put this? You don’t… dwell on the bitterness! Dwell on the healthy benefits! As in…. just because we’re royally screwed… doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world! Afterall, we’re not dead yet! We got 3 gems, and this ship still has fuel!
SILVER: Huh…. you know? You’re right! I shouldn’t look at everything as though the sky is falling! We’ve survived a lot worse thus far! And there’s still a chance to save Sonic!
RAY: Right you are, pillow head! At this rate, nothing can go wrong!

*THUNDER & LIGHTNING*

*Heavy Rain*

RAY: Soooooo long as Blaze stays inside!

They both then see a massive pirate ship a few miles away from them.

RAY: And so long as those guys don’t ram us!
SILVER: Wait! It’s…. I can’t believe it!

That was the ship of Captain Whisker, Machine Pirate of Soleanna’s seas!

WHIKSER: AHOY!! D’er be those scurvy dogs of Sylvania! Why do they bother me so much!?
JOHNNY: Probably because they kicked us in the bolts!
WHISKER: Uh… THAT’S RIGHT! These landlubbers will pay for having bested me in battle! Leaving us out to dry! Well, we ain’t dry no more!!! The rain greases our gears as we met out justice! Mini! Mum! Set a course to RAM THEM!

The ship barrels toward the Pioneer 12!

SILVER: It’s Captain Whisker!
RAY: *bursts out laughing* With a name like that, why would you care?! AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!
SILVER: This is no laughing matter, Ray! We have to stop them!

Mighty and the others (sans Blaze) all go outside.

AMY: What’s going on?
SILVER: We’re about to be attacked by pirates!
RAY: *snickers* He’s called “Captain Whisker!”
MIGHTY: “Whisker”!?
AMY: Sounds like a type of beer.
RAY: Whoever came up with THAT name was definitely sipping too much! Hah!
KNUCKLES: I admit, he doesn’t sound so intimidating. How much of a threat is he compared to the likes of Black Tristar or Zavok?
SILVER: Well comparing Whisker to both makes him no threat at all. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t proceed with caution!
ROUGE: He’s right, you know. The first step to failure is to under-estimate the enemy.
SILVER: You guys stay here! I’ll handle this!
AMY: Wait… by yourself!?
SILVER: I’ve defeated him alone before, but we do have to make sure he doesn’t have any tricks! He could be luring us away from the ship!

Silver flies off to face Whisker.

The next Zone is “Pirate Storm”. This one is a Mach Speed Zone in the vaguest sense. You’re playing as Silver, flying through the sky in a Star Fox (or if you prefer, Panzer Dragoon) styled shoot em up stage. “NO LIES CAN MAKE IT THROUGH!” or however that shit goes! Shoot down cannonballs, submarines, and anything else that might be headed your way as you brave through the storm (God, I sound like one of those corny game guides they used to make in print!). Think of it like a miniature Zoness…. without the searchlights or the tedious boss. Like with Titanic planes, you can collect those little dots to increase your boost meter.

Afterward, Silver lands on the ship.

SILVER: Alright! Time to find Whisker.
RAY: You mean WHISKEY!

Silver turns around to Ray behind him.

SILVER: Ray!? What are you… how did you get here!?
RAY: *points* She did it!

Amy had flown them both over to the ship!

SILVER: Amy!?
AMY: I figured it was best to bring in backup! Besides, I don’t think we’ve fought side by side together yet!
SILVER: This isn’t a game, Amy! Captain Whisker is dangerous when he needs to be!
RAY: *chuckles* …..”Whisker!”
AMY: Remember, I almost beat you during our battle, you know! I think I can handle a couple of pirates!
SILVER: ……..Alright. But just be careful!
AMY: Of course!

Next zone is Whiskers Dreadnaught (or Haunted Ship from Rush 2). Should I keep “No way through” or just have the original music from Rush 2? Tough call. Obviously, the ghosts would be removed (how the piss would Whisker be able to command ghosts? Or did he? I can’t remember) As well as those silly cannons littered throughout the acts. Many of the enemies are obvious robot pirates, but I’d want them to have a variety of weapons ranging from swords to pistols to hooks to anchors, etc. Now as for general gimmicks, it’d be pretty cool if you took the ships that fire cannonballs from the background, they’d shoot the ground below you, and have you fall to lower levels during the automated segments, just to scare the piss out of the player. 😛 They’d be like “OH NO!!!” and shit, making them think they’ll fall into the water. Hell, they did it to us back in Sonic Heroes (“THE RAILS!” “They’re pulling out ALL the tricks!”)
Not sure how I’d distinguish the Acts, though. I suppose the “Pirate Storm” segment could be used in place of Act 1, but that would just be lazy, no? Anywho, after completion…

AMY: So, what kind of threat would Whisker be to us?
SILVER: Well, his body is made of a strange alloy that is resistant to magic, so we’ll have to use concussive attacks.
RAY: Or I can just blow his ass away, and we can call it a day!
SILVER: Not quite. His defensive capabilities are far more advanced than you’re giving him credit for.
RAY: Or maybe you haven’t learned to PUNCH people!
SILVER: You’d want me to punch solid steel!?
RAY: No, just punch out Whisker! Who said anything about punching Steel!?
SILVER: >_>
AMY: He’s… he’s special.

And then Whisker jumps in out of nowhere, with Johnny Depp… or… Johnny DEEP! HAHA! How’s THAT for puns!? Ah fuck it…

WHISKER: Oy, Landlubbers! You dare march ye scurvy dogs onto MY ship!?
SILVER: Captain Whisker! If memory serves me correctly, I destroyed you years ago! How are you still alive!?
WHISKER: It’s quite simple, you wretched Scalleywag! I uh… I uh…
JOHNNY: Someone rebuilt you using a weird stone.
WHISKER: That’s right! I have a new master now, and he wishes for nothing but vengeance upon you! However, it is a secret! His blackened and crystalized hide will never be revealed so long as I, the great Captain Whisker, can keep his secret identity a secret!
RAY: C’mon Whiskey! Let it out!
WHISKER: IT’S CAPTAIN Whi-…. er… hey, what is my name again!?
JOHNNY: *snickers* Whiskey!
WHISKEY: AH YES! I, CAPTAIN WHISKEY WILL-

And then Ray blasts off a portion of Whiskey’s mustache!

RAY: Sorry, but in accordance with your name change, we must strip you of the very thing that made you Whisker!
WHISKEY: NOOOOOOOOO! MY BEAUTIFUL MOO-STAZ!!!! NO WAIT! I’LL CHANGE MY BACK! I SWEAR IT!!
RAY: No can do, bucko! Once you go…. er… Whiskey, you’ll be out of mercy! Yeah, that works!
WHISKEY: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SILVER: >_>
AMY: Are you sure this guy is a threat?
SILVER: He was never this stupid. But it might just be a diversion! Get ready!
AMY: …Do I really need to?
SILVER: You came over here for a reason, didn’t you?
AMY: *sighs* alright, fine.

Whisker is a relatively easy fight compared to Mephilis. All he does i jump around and shoot a chained hook at you…. in succession. Magic based attacks won’t do a lot of damage, but hey! That’s what Ray is for! Just have him spray Whisker until he’s dead.

After…

AMY: Well… that was a waste of time.
SILVER: We’re not done yet!

They all look toward Johnny.

JOHNNY: ….What?
SILVER: You’d normally panic when your Captain is defeated. What’s giving you the courage now?
JOHNNY: Well for one, Whisker wasn’t my Captain!

Suddenly, a black fog envelops Johnny…. and he changes into Mephilis!

MEPHILIS: He’s an illusion!
SILVER: IT’S YOU!!!
AMY: An illusion!? Then-

Suddenly, Pioneer 12 suffers an explosion!

RAY: OH CRAP!!
SILVER: NO!!! What have you done?!
MEPHILIS: I noticed you were collecting Sol Gems. So I will be taking them off of your hands!
AMY: NO!!!

Amy and Ray both try blasting Mephilis, but he teleports all the way over to Pioneer 12, and summons a horde of Gaian to raid the ship!

SILVER: Come on! We have to hurry back!

*Pioneer 12*

Mighty, Knuckles, Rouge, and Blaze all try to fight off the Gaian horde, but they overwhelm the group and tear the ship apart! Sonic’s frozen body literally falls into the water!

MIGHTY: SONIC!!!
KNUCKLES: *gasps* Protect the ship! I will go after him!

Knuckles jumps in the water after Sonic!

ROUGE: KNUCKLES!!

Rouge flies after Knuckles, leaving both Mighty and Blaze to defend the ship!

MIGHTY: Dammit! DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!
BLAZE: This is bad! At this rate, the ship will sink!
MIGHTY: Does this ship have lifeboats?
BLAZE: No. It wasn’t intended for combat or intended for evacuations.
MIGHTY: No offense, but whoever designed this crap needs to be in the dungeon more than me!
BLAZE: On that, we agree.

they both head to the upper deck to find the roof was torn off! Blaze hesitates to step outside due to the rain, but that doesn’t stop the Gaian from pouring in!

MIGHTY: Come on! It’s just water, it won’t kill you!
BLAZE: ….I …. I can’t!
MIGHTY: Girl, if these bastards tear up the whole ship, you’ll be taking in more water than you’d ever want!
BLAZE: ……..>_>
MIGHTY: GODDAMMIT!!!!

Mighty heads outside by himself, and brandishes his news axes!

MIGHTY: Time to put these babies to work!

Alright, wave battles! You guys love these, right? 7 waves of Gaian assholes. Now you have an excuse to test out those new axes! And you’ll need them as the last 2 waves have 4 titans in total, and they can’t take damage outside of their eyes or Action triggers.

After that, Mighty eventually gets overwhelmed, and the Gaian start pounding on him.

BLAZE: Mighty!

But she still won’t go outside! As such, Mephilis teleports behind her.

MEPHILIS: It is not hatred that fuels your hesitation! But rather…. fear!
BLAZE: You demon! Are you taking advantage of this rain!?
MEPHILIS: How was I to know that the high and mighty Princess of Sylvania… was a afraid of a little moisture? Hahahahahahah!

Mephilis then blows the roof off over her, and she is instantly drenched by the rain!

BLAZE: *gasps*

Her expression turns to furious anger! But suddenly, Mephilis uses a peculiar restraint spell, and binds her limbs to the floor!

BLAZE: GRAHH!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
MIGHTY: BLAZE!!!

And he gets punches in the face. Mephilis slowly inches toward her.

MEPHILIS: Oh don’t be hostile! The water is great! It’s refreshing! Just take a nice… long… drink!
BLAZE: I swear on the honor of my ancestors, I will make you suffer dearly for this!
MEPHILIS: Honor!? Pretentious fool! They had no honor to speak of! Endless lifetimes of endless tyranny! Conquest! Exploitation! You have no idea what horrors they’ve inflicted in order to maintain their power!
BLAZE: Be that… as it may, I will make amends by first destroying you!!!
MEPHILIS: That anger… it is so…. disproportionate! Perhaps you need to take a longer time to…. “cool off”

Mephilis blasts a hole in the floor, all the way down to the cargo area where the water starts seeping in. He then levitates her down to the depths below!

BLAZE: No…. you wouldn’t dare!?
MEPHILIS: This… is for your own good!

And then he forces her in deep into the water, right before allowing the current to wash her away!

MIGHTY: BLAAAAAAAAAAAAZE!!!!!!

Mighty then breaks free of the Gaian and jumps in after her!

MEPHILIS: Hahahahahhahaha! This is all too easy!!!!

*Sol Seas*

Blaze drifts away in the waves of the ocean, barely able to keep her head above water! As she is rocked by the waves and submerged, her anger then turns to pure fear. Suddenly, horrifying images of a past life flock to her mind. Children… all circling around her, chanting…

KIDS: *sing sing voices* Drowning kitty, drowning kitty, drowning kitty, drowning kitty, drowning kitty.

And then she shuts her eyes.

*CUT TO BLACK*
*Bubble Noises*
………………..
…………………….
………………………..
*splashing*

SILVER: *muffled* Blaze! Blaze! Wake up! Wake up!
BLAZE: …Silver? SILVER!!!! HELP!!!
SILVER: I’ve got you!

*Random Cave*

And then… Blaze opens her eyes to see Mighty instead.

MIGHTY: I got you! I got you! You ok!?

Blaze is laid out, looking about as terrified as can be. But she slowly looks at Mighty with a shocked expression.

BLAZE: ….Mighty?!
MIGHTY: You were expecting someone else?

Blaze slowly moves her arms toward Mighty… and then out of nowhere, she hugs him, and then breaks down crying!

MIGHTY: What…. the….. hell!?

*Sylvania*

Back on the main continent, the Gaian horde had begun their advance! Flooding the city, they decimate the Sylvanian army, and nearly obliterate the people.

*Acropolis*

The snowy regions of White Acropolis were also being flooded by Gaian monsters! From the fiery volcano buried deep with the icy mountain, the Iblis Gaian arose to wreak havoc upon the land.

Standing atop one of the mountains was Mephilis himself, watching as the chaos he sewed spreads deeper into the land. And as if the devil himself made his appearance, Zavok has teleported to Mephilis’s current position!

ZAVOK: You’ve certainly provided much entertainment for me! I am pleased to know there is someone who shares the same…. passion for destruction as I-
MEPHILIS: I have no interest in entertaining a demigod. I have my own reasons for seeping ruin upon this world.
ZAVOK: Never the less, you are saving me the trouble! As my strength is nowhere near the level it once was, having a servant of destruction in my stead-
MEPHILIS: Again with the presumption? If you are not as powerful as you once were, then you are in no position to enlist me!
ZAVOK: For one so confident and assertive, this… unusual scent of anxiety says otherwise! I haven’t come to claim your head, but considering your magic doesn’t work on me, I’d say your position is weak by default!
MEPHILIS: ………You want to destroy the planet immediately. Something that interferes with my plans.
ZAVOK: Yes, I’m sure you want take things nice and slowly. And I approve! It certainly is too early to destroy the planet now, especially when that wench still draws breath! Do as you please! Just know that when you are finished, this planet will be mine to eliminate! And whether you escape or not matters very little to me!
MEPHILIS: I am the spitting image of death incarnate. I will survive if I want to or not.
ZAVOK: We shall see!

ZAVOK then warps out as Mepilis continues to monitor the destruction.

*Sand Oasis*

The desert, however, is perfectly calm despite the chaos erupting around them. Jet was able to have a normal conversation with the locals despite the news of Gaian threats.

JET: So you all were banished?
BIRD: Yes. Back in ancient times, our ancestors were led by a Hedgehog named Shoga Rozealo! And there was a heated war-
JET: Wait… Shoga? Why does that name sound familiar?
BIRD: Probably because one of your friends was a confirmed descendent?
JET: …….Oh yeah. Amy. Why was there a war between you and the Felines?
BIRD: We don’t know. The only info we could gather came from Silver, but his knowledge is limited too. All I know is as long as we don’t have to deal with the Soleanna Kingdom, we don’t have to face their wrath.
JET: …. Sylvania
BIRD: Say what?
JET: They call it the Sylvania Kingdom.
BIRD: Gah, what difference does it make? They’re all the same. A bunch of high and mighty pussy cats who think just because some lousy god let them use fire, they can boss everyone around!
JET: Alright, so let me get this straight. You guys…. or your ancestors, rather…. helped those bastards fight against the Gaian… and that’s the only time you’re allowed into their city? Otherwise, you guys just waste away in the dust?
BIRD: That about sums it up!
JET: ………Then I say let them fight the Gaian on their own!
BIRD: What!?
JET: You heard me! I say screw em! You don’t get special perks for helping them win a war, then they don’t deserve your assistance.
BIRD: But if we don’t partake in the war effort, we may be attacked, or the Soleanna army will pay us retribution.
JET: Then you fight them back. It’s that simple!
BIRD: We don’t have the resources or manpower to mutiny against their rule! What you are suggesting is suicide!

Jet looks up at the strength Island in the sky again.

JET: Or… we could use a new base.

*Random Shoreline*

Knuckles managed to recover Sonic’s body, and pulls it on shore. Rouge managed to track them both down.

ROUGE: Oh good! You’re not dead! *whew* You know, you’re the craziest Mobian I’ve ever met!
KNUCKLES: Would you not do the same for a friend?
ROUGE: Depends on the friend.
KNUCKLES: ……What an awful outlook on life. Blast! I can’t believe the ship was destroyed! And who knows where the rest of our allies are!? I can assure you that princess is losing her mind in the depths!
ROUGE: I can’t believe I’m actually worried about Amy and Ray.
KNUCKLES: And even worse! We’ve lost the Sol Gems to the waters below! If only Vector were here, we could rely on his aquatic prowess! ROUGE: *giggles*
KNUCKLES: How can you laugh at a time like this!? We’ve lost our vessel, separated from our allies, and the treasures of our quest-

Rouge then pulls out the 3 Sol Gems they had in their possession!

KNUCKLES: We’re secured by you?
ROUGE: If it’s one thing I never do, it’s let jewels slip from my grasp! What? Senses gone dull? Couldn’t sniff them out like last time? (Hmm, this outfit must be one helluva insulator!)
KNUCKLES: Yes Well, it would appear that you are good for something!
ROUGE: *scoffs* Excuse me!? Who needed my help to break into the castle undetected?
KNUCKLES: Not this again… wait. How did you swipe the blue one from me?!
ROUGE: You were sleeping.
KNUCKLES: Why you little sneaky thief!
ROUGE: *smiles* Why thank you!
KNUCKLES: Just what do you intend to do with those gems?
ROUGE: Why do you ask?
KNUCKLES: You seem just a wee bit too attached to them!
ROUGE: And your point is?
KNUCKLES: Don’t forget that they are needed to restore order in Sylvania!
ROUGE: Well… maybe order shouldn’t be restored!
KNUCKLES: Are you mad, woman!?
ROUGE: Maybe you haven’t noticed, but everyone we’ve run into thinks having those cats in charge is a bad idea! And seeing how the top 2 people in charge have a bad habit of losing their temper and abusing their power, I doubt collecting them for Blaze’s benefit would do us any good in the end!
KNUCKLES: This is not our world! Thus, their affairs shouldn’t concern us one bit! Our only concern is to find our way home! And if those gems are the way to do it, then it is imperative that we ensure they return to their rightful place!
ROUGE: Even if the Queen might be lying to us?
KNUCKLES: What other option do we have!? At this rate, we cannot afford to second guess those who offer their aid! If you have no intention of returning them, then hand them over this instant!

Rouge dangles the Cyan Gem over Knuckles and Sonic.

ROUGE: Aww, you want em? Come and get em! All the way up here!
KNUCKLES: You are like a child!
ROUGE: And you’re like an elderly person!

Knuckles then uses air bending to blow the Gem out of her hand!

ROUGE: HEY!!!

The gem falls onto Sonic’s body…. and then something happens. The gem glows, and Sonic’s body glows right with it.

KNUCKLES: OH NO!!!
ROUGE: Way to go, bonehead! Now Sonic is dead for sure!
KNUCKLES: You hovered it over his body!
ROUGE: YOU KNOCKED IT OUT OF MY HAND!!
KNUCKLES: If you weren’t so adamant on stealing them-
ROUGE: Stealing!? I’m keeping them out of the wrong hands!
KNUCKLES: For all we know, those wrong hands could be yours!
SONIC: Jeez, you 2 sound like a married couple.
KNUCKLES: Stay out of this Sonic! …..Wait….
ROUGE: Was that….

They both see Sonic is alive and well!

SONIC: I don’t know how you guys did it… but I’m feeling 100%! You even held onto to my sword! Thanks!
KNUCKLES & ROUGE: HE’S ALIVE!!!!
SONIC: ….Well I hope so! Otherwise, how am I gonna explain being a zombie?
KNUCKLES: I don’t know what a zombie is! But it’s good to have you back!
ROUGE: Well what do you know? The Cyan Emerald is a cure all!
KNUCKLES: The others will be elated to hear this news!
SONIC: I’d be elated if you guys let me in on what I missed!

*Random Shoreline 2*

Silver, Ray, and Amy are all walking on the beach, looking for any signs of their crew.

RAY: *sad, sing song* Separated and it feels SO BAD!!!
AMY: Please, Ray, you’re not helping.
SILVER: This is a disaster! I…. it happened again!
AMY: What do you mean, Silver!?
SILVER: The Whisker attack was a trap just so that creep could lure us from our position! It’s just like… when we fought the Black Tristar. He lured us in, and I took the bait. I learned nothing, and now our friends might’ve perished because of me!
AMY: Calm down, Silver!

Silver then punches a Rock, chipping off a chunk of it!

RAY: ….Whoa!
SILVER: How am I supposed to be calm!? I’m supposed to save lives, not lose them! How can I fulfill my role if I keep falling for traps like this!?
AMY: ……….. Silver…. get over it.
SILVER: *looks back* What!?
AMY: It’s like I told you several times before. Not everything is going to go according to plan. That’s how life is. You’re never going to be in absolute control of what happens in your life. The trick… is to learn how to deal with what comes your way. Not cry over your losses. How can you be anyone if you’re too busy feeling sorry for yourself? I think…. people would have a lot more respect for you if you didn’t whine about everything. You seemed like a stronger person when fighting against us. What happened?
SILVER: ………..
AMY: ^_^ Wow, that sounded mean! It wasn’t supposed to come out like that, honest!
RAY: Pandora comes out of the box, never in!
AMY: What’s that supposed to mean!?
RAY: You could’ve said “Life gives you lemons”-
AMY: Some people like lemons, Ray!

Silver pays them no mind

SILVER: ……Yeah… but…

*FLASHBACK*

A much younger Silver is getting a lecture from Hathor.

HATHOR: You will be the pacifier of all evil in the land! A role your ancestors accepted and excelled at! You have large shoes to fill! Failure… is not an option! Lives will depend on you!
SILVER: >_<

HATHOR: My daughter will be the future Queen of Sylvania! You will not befriend her! You will serve and protect her at all costs!
SILVER: >_<
HATHOR: WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE!?
SILVER: YES, YOUR MAJESTY!!!

*END FLASHBACK*

SILVER: ….It’s all I’ve ever known. If I’m not in control, then how can I fulfill my duty? Could…. could the Queen be wrong?
AMY: SILVER!
SILVER: Huh?
AMY: We should probably make our way around this place! What do you say?
SILVER: Uh… yeah.

Next Zone is “Wave Ocean”. As it was just a rehash of Emerald Coast in the original, I think a few changes are in order. First of all, no whales. I don’t think anyone really gives a damn about the scene of Sonic outrunning a stupid orca anymore, so keeping that sequence intact has no tangible purpose. Secondly, those little spike gates? Also gone. And ofcourse, no robots!
Now what goes into this one are of course Gaian enemies, crab based enemies, and it would probably be more appropriate to have dolphins as part of the automated gimmicks. Like if you get sped out into the water, and a Dolphin jumps out and smacks you back on your path via it’s tail? I’m surprised Sega hasn’t even thought of that with their beach themed zones yet. And then for the final segment, you’re riding on a Dolphin (or Silver is flying) as they avoid traps and head to the goal ring. Might be cliche, but eh.

Afterward, Ray is too tired to walk anymore.

RAY: WHEW! No wonder there are so few Gaian in this spot! It’s hot!
SILVER: The fact that there are any Gaian in the daytime is worrying.
AMY: What do you mean?
SILVER: Normally, Gaian come out during the night time. They’re weak to intense sunlight. With the exception of the Ibliss variants. Those Gaian are composed of pure fire, and take a little more effort to defeat. But… these are regular Gaian! They shouldn’t even be here now as the sun would kill them!
AMY: ….Maybe…. they’ve adapted?
SILVER: If that’s the case, then not even the royal family could beat them!

Ray tries to sit in the sand… but as he does, a geyser of FIRE bursts out of the ground and blows his ass airborne!

RAY: YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
AMY: RAY!?
SILVER: What was that!?

Ray falls into the water to cool his ass off.

RAY: *sigh of relief* That’s better!
AMY: What happened?
RAY: The sand must be composed of a dragon’s blowhole! I was burned!!!

Silver checks the spot in which Ray sat in…. and finds the Yellow Sol Gem!

SILVER: oh wow! Ray, you’re a genius! We found the Sol Gem of Fire!
RAY: That’s great! Wait, what?
AMY: A Sol Gem? Here!?
SILVER: This is great!
RAY: Well you know what that means!
SILVER: ……What?
RAY: Hahahah! “What”, he says!
AMY: Maybe this area has a special meaning?

Silver looks around for a bit.

SILVER: ……This area. I think I recognize it. This was one of Shoga’s final resting place! He was in a standoff against the Felines, but couldn’t defeat them. He was killed and then…. tossed into the ocean.
AMY: Oh my…
RAY: hardcore!
AMY: ….Hey…. do you ever wonder why you serve the felines? Afterall, our ancestor was at war with them. It’s amazing that you were ever born!
SILVER: ……..I don’t know.
AMY: ………I’m starting not to like this place! It seems like you’re being taken advantage of!
SILVER: What choice do I have? My role has been defined for generations!
AMY: But at what cost!? You worry yourself to death over whether or not you can live up to your ancestors when the very first of your kind would be upset with you all! You don’t even know why they went to war with each other!
SILVER: …….I’ve asked that…. but Queen Hathor would often say that grievances of the past is best left in the past.
AMY: So why was Knuckles ever forbidden from entering Sylvania!?
SILVER: ……….!!!
RAY: Well, she’s got you there!
AMY: There’s something she’s not telling us! And she’s manipulating you!! Don’t you see that!?
SILVER: ……. I guess we could ask-
AMY: No! “Demand”!
SILVER: But she’s the Queen!
AMY: Aren’t you more powerful than her!? Psychokinesis is stronger than that of Pyrokinesis!
SILVER: It doesn’t work on living beings! Even if their bodies don’t move, their blood, hearts, and lungs still function! I can’t use it against her. And that’s not even the issue! Rebelling against the Queen…
AMY: If you find out she’s doing something wrong, are you going to sit by idly while she does so!?
SILVER: ……..
AMY: Silver, I haven’t known you for a long time, but the brief time we spent together, I know full well that my friends and family are nowhere near as honest, trustworthy, and selfless as you!
RAY: HEY!!! I’m standing right here, you know!!!
AMY: ^_^; Sorry. the point is… you’re a better person than many of us. Loyal to a fault, even. But… could you really let her get away with doing evil!?
SILVER: …..Well….
AMY: What if the Queen wanted to kill Blaze!?
SILVER: Ok, that’s going too far!
AMY: But it’s not impossible!! We all feel something is horribly wrong! And… you won’t admit it, but you know something is wrong as well.
SILVER: ……………..
RAY: So, nice weather we’re having, right? Can we find shade? Our friends even?
AMY: Oh, you’re so inconsiderate, Ray!
SILVER: He’s right, though. We have to find the others. And fast!

*Cave*

Mighty and Blaze are lounging about in a cave.

BLAZE: You shouldn’t have come for me.
MIGHTY: And let you drown? Why?
BLAZE: ……..I’m not comfortable with your aid after all I’ve done to you.
MIGHTY: Can we just put that behind us? I figured we were even by now. You got screwed harder than I did!
BLAZE: Perhaps.
MIGHTY: ……So wanna talk about it?
BLAZE: About what?
MIGHTY: Your emotional breakdown! That’s what! I still feel the droplets in my shell!
BLAZE: ……I thought….. I thought I was going to die.
MIGHTY: Well… obviously! Being adrift at sea has that effect on people.
BLAZE: No, I mean…. just by the rain itself.
MIGHTY: You think friggin “rain” will kill you!?
BLAZE: …I don’t know why I feel this way. It’s just…. a single drop of water…. it scares me.
MIGHTY: Well how do you stay hydrated? Or take a bath!?
BLAZE: Well…. we use our tongues to clean the fur-
MIGHTY: *hands up* NEVERMIND! NEVERMIND! Sorry I asked!
BLAZE: ……Its…. it’s embarrassing.
MIGHTY: What is?
BLAZE: I’m supposed to be a strong leader. But I lose my composure so easily.
MIGHTY: Well good! You’re a living being!
BLAZE: That’s not funny! How can-
MIGHTY: Who said you had to be perfect!? Yo mama? She’s no better than you. Throwing tantrums and wanting to execute us just for being friends with Knuckles. Hell, I think you turned out better even if you lock people up for giving you a bath! *chuckles*
BLAZE: …….I’m sorry.
MIGHTY: Look, I said I’m over it!
BLAZE: It’s not that. It’s just…. it wasn’t the first time I was pushed into the water. I had a relapse.
MIGHTY: …Huh?
BLAZE: ……..Back when I was a little girl….

*FLASHBACK*

A kid Blaze is drinking from the lake… when a big Koala girl comes up from behind her.

BLAZE: There was this girl… who had a tendency to bully me every day. Her and her circle of friends. I used to drink from ponds as a little girl. And… they always made fun of me for that. But… it was that one day… I went to this…. “Misty…. Lake”. The water there was so fresh. But they had claimed it for themselves. So when I “dared” to encroach upon it, they took it upon themselves to “teach” me a lesson.

The Koalas push Blaze into the water, and then try to hold her under for several minutes!

KOALAS: *laughs* Drowning Kitty, drowning kitty, drowning kitty

*END FLASHBACK*

MIGHTY: They tried to drown you!?

Blaze holds herself, shaking erratically.

BLAZE: I didn’t know what they were doing to me. But at that moment, I had swallowed some water, but I couldn’t breathe! I was choking, but they wouldn’t let me out! All they did was sing! *hyperventilates* Drowning kitty….. drowning kitty…… drowning….. kitty…..*teary eyed* drowning….. kitty….. drowning….. kitty……. drowning…. kitty…… drowning……
MIGHTY: HEY! SNAP OUT OF IT!
BLAZE: Huh!? *heavy breathing*
MIGHTY: *hand on shoulder* Just…. keep going. What happened next?
BLAZE: ….It’s a blur. I lost consciousness after a while…. the next thing I knew…

*FLASHBACK AGAIN*

Young Blaze is on the ground. And when she opens her eyes, she sees a kid Silver standing above her.

Y.SILVER: Hey. Are you ok?

At first, she just stares up at him. And then she jumps off the ground, cries, and hugs him.

BLAZE: That’s the first time I ever met Silver. He saved me that day.

Then you have like… a scene where multiple drawings of Silver and Blaze’s younger days being splashed up as the screen scrolls to the right. Idk what that’s called, but you know what I’m talking about, right? Well, I hope so!

BLAZE: Believe it or not, we used to do a lot of things together. He was soft spoken… but very… amusing at times. At least until-
MIGHTY: He got a job.
BLAZE: ……..Yeah.

Mighty rolls his eyes in annoyance.

MIGHTY: Ok well…. now we know where the fear of water comes from.
BLAZE: ……I’m sorry.
MIGHTY: *stands up* Aw jeez, stop apologizing so much! If you really wanna make up for it, you should try to get over your fear of water!
BLAZE: There’s no viable solution to recovering from such a phobia, is there?
MIGHTY: Maybe not the best solutions, but…

Mighty then sees a lake within the cave. And then he takes off his shoes.

BLAZE: …..What are you-
MIGHTY: Take off your shoes.
BLAZE: *blushes* Ergh! What for!?
MIGHTY: We’re just gonna stand in the moat for a bit!
BLAZE: ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!
MIGHTY: The water won’t hurt you as long as you keep your head above it!
BLAZE: Are you insane!?
MIGHTY: We could’ve used you back when the Gaian attacked us. But the rain stopped you! What if we all got killed because you stayed indoors to keep dry!?
BLAZE: …….Q_Q
MIGHTY: Yeah, sounds like a dick thing to say, but that’s the truth! It’s better if you got through this now than to wait later for when we really need you! Ok?!
BLAZE: ……….Ok.

Blaze attempts to step into the water.

MIGHTY: Lose the shoes!
BLAZE: No! It’s…. it’s not fair! Why do I have to take them off!?

And then, she slips in!

BLAZE: *gasps*!
MIGHTY: Aww hell!

Mighty quickly grabs Blaze out of the water as she hyperventilates again.

BLAZE: LET GO!! LET GO!!!
MIGHTY: GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!!! CALM DOWN!!!!
BLAZE: Ergh!!! ….*calms down*
MIGHTY: Ok!? You good!? See!? You’re in the water now! Ain’t dead yet!
BLAZE: You’re awful, Mighty!
MIGHTY: So I’ve heard. Ok, we’re just gonna stand in it for about.. 15 minutes tops.
BLAZE: 15 minutes!?
MIGHTY: YES DAMMIT!!! Just… relax!!! Ok!? You can get through this!
BLAZE: …..Ok… ok ok…. It’s just…. we’re….we’re just standing in it. Right? That’s all?
MIGHTY: ……….

After 15 minutes (not literally).

MIGHTY: Ok. Now we’re gonna sit-
BLAZE: WHAT!? You only said we were standing!!!
MIGHTY: I know, but uh…. you can’t expect only for your feet to get soaked! Who knows, you might trip and fall like you did now!
BLAZE: ……Q_Q
MIGHTY: *sighs* Come on.

Mighty and Blaze sit in the lake… slowly. Blaze hesitates, but Mighty has to hold her down in it.

BLAZE: *rapid breathing*
MIGHTY: Ok! You still good!? Eh? Hello!?
BLAZE: Huh?
MIGHTY: You ok!?
BLAZE: ….*shakes head* Yeah… yeah, yeah…
MIGHTY: Sounds like you’re about to pass out!
BLAZE: I’m fine! I think. I hope this isn’t a prank!
MIGHTY: I’m not that big of an ass!

After 15 more minutes.

MIGHTY: Alright. You still ok?
BLAZE: Define… “ok”!?
MIGHTY: Well, you sound better than you did earlier! Ok… now for the hard part! We’re just gonna lie back-

Then Blaze tries to get out, but Mighty keeps her in!

BLAZE: NO!!! PLEASE!! DON’T!!!!!
MIGHTY: It’s alright! I’m right here with you! We’ll both do it! We just lie back, we cross our arms over ourselves, and just… think of it like a cloud or something.
BLAZE: You cheat! You have a shell! You’ll never sink into the moat!
MIGHTY: Well, this ain’t for me, now is it?! You’ll never know if you might fall into a river.
BLAZE: Mighty, don’t make me do this! Isn’t this far enough!?
MIGHTY: If you’re still afraid, we’re not done yet! Alright? You ready?
BLAZE: Yes…. no! I…
MIGHTY: Trust me.
BLAZE: ………*deep breath*

Mighty and Blaze slowly… SLOWLY…. lie backward. And they just lay in the water, faces above the surface…. for 15 seconds. The entire time, Blaze is shaking erratically, having her eyes closed.

And then, after some time… she opens her eyes, and has her own set of flashbacks. Going to the times that she wasn’t afraid of the water. How she spent a lot of her childhood swimming around ponds. Though she had never dipped her head below the surface.

Coming back to the present… she then decides of her own accord… to dip her head in.

MIGHTY: What …. HEY!

Blaze holds Mighty back.. and keeps her entire body below the surface…..for 15 whole seconds.

And then she starts swimming around as though she were an expert!

MIGHTY: …..The hell!?

After a while, she rises to the surface.

MIGHTY: ……..I didn’t know you could swim.
BLAZE: ……..I didn’t think I still could. It’s been so many years.

ANd then… she starts laughing hysterically.

MIGHTY: >_>

And she starts swimming around again.

MIGHTY: Issues nothing! She’s got encyclopedic volumes!

After another good…15-20, they’re both out of the water and sitting on the edge of the lake.

BLAZE: ….Mighty. Thank you.
MIGHTY: Hmm?
BLAZE: For helping me…. conquer my fears.
MIGHTY: …….Eh, it’s nothing. I just did that to keep you from locking people up!

And she shoves him.

MIGHTY: It was a joke!
BLAZE: Well it wasn’t amusing!
MIGHTY: Yeah yeah. Alright. How about we find a way out of this place?
BLAZE: I agree. We’ve been here long enough.

Alright, after I could presume would be the most deviantarded scene in this entire series, the next zone would be “Dragon’s Lair”. It’s another “pitch black” zone in which the enemies will be the primary means of letting you know where to go next. Of course, Blaze can also illuminate areas with her attacks. It’s here that I’d want to introduce the “Iblis” enemies. Primarly the quadruped assholes and bird-like creatures. They’ll be immune to everything Blaze can do aside from Spell Flares, but that’s where Mighty comes in. With his new axes, he can decimate the whole zone. Plus…. indestructible shell still makes him cheap.
Act 1 is predominantly in the lake area of the cave, while Act 2 is a labyrinthine tunnel. Not quite like a maze, more like a road with several forks along the route.

At the end of it…..

MIGHTY: Alright… I’m lost.
BLAZE: That much is obvious.
MIGHTY: I didn’t know Gaian could light themselves on fire!
BLAZE: Those are the Iblis Gaian. The ones that threatened us to extinction.
MIGHTY: Hell, you could’ve splashed some water on them and be done with it!
BLAZE: If it were that simple, we would’ve done so a long time ago.
MIGHTY: Have you ever tried to hit them with water?!
BLAZE: It’s what we were told.
MIGHTY: So that’s a no!
BLAZE: Mighty…

Suddenly, a large worm-like Iblis pops out of the ground, having the head of a dragon in it’s maw.

MIGHTY: Oh (bleep)!!
BLAZE: It can’t be!!!

Breaking the skull in half with it’s bare jaw, the Worm lights up the entire cave with fire!

MIGHTY: Sure wish we had some water now!

So this fight involves a lot of jumping… because the head is the weak point. The body can be damaged, but only by Mighty’s Action triggers. The head can be damaged eitherway. Now, this bastard would constantly pop out at different intervals and spit hot fire once or more. The trick here, however, is that being near Iblis Worm causes your rings to drain. Yeah, and you have 2 close range characters for the fight! FUN SHIT! I guess you could say this is an endurance match.

After the fight, the fucker isn’t dead yet, and Mighty and Blaze are forced to retreat from the cave.

MIGHTY: Maybe we can lure him to the lake and put him out there!
BLAZE: It won’t work!
MIGHTY: You were just told it wouldn’t work! You’ve never tried!

They get to the lake, and Mighty on the edge of the moat.

MIGHTY: Come on, you flaming idiot!

Well… I can’t have him say “flaming cock” but, you know. The worm comes out and tries to bite Mighty, but the Dare-Dillo moves out the way as the worm falls into the water below… and dies!

MIGHTY: HAH! Told yah!
BLAZE: It actually worked!?
MIGHTY: Why wouldn’t it!? He’s fire, it’s water…. it was bound to work!
BLAZE: …….I don’t understand. How is this possible? Could my ancestors have made a mistake?
MIGHTY: I don’t know, but that should be the last thing on our minds! Lets get out of here already!
BLAZE: Right.

*Tropical Jungle*

The 2 finally escape from the cave… and see a familiar sight amongst them! Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge were just nearby!

MIGHTY: Sonic!?
SONIC: MIGHTY!!!! OVER HERE!!!

Both groups run up to each other, and Sonic and Mighty do the “brofist” …..sorry.

MIGHTY: Nice to know you haven’t bit the dust!
SONIC: Well what can I say? I die hard!
KNUCKLES: It’s good to see you both doing well, Mighty!
ROUGE: Nice to know the rain hasn’t driven you insane!
BLAZE: *crosses arms* I find your sense of humor lacking in taste!
ROUGE: I find your temper lacking in grace!
SONIC: Alright, you 2! We’ve got enough infighting, don’t you think?
MIGHTY: Yeah. And I bet Amy is still looking for us.
KNUCKLES: How do you suppose we find them?
SONIC: How else? We start walking!

Next zone is “Tropical Jungle” from 06. Considering how much of a ripoff this is of the Heroes Zones, I wouldn’t know how to differentiate outside of sticking to the portion that has all the ruins and those swinging logs. And I played the Silver portion more than anyone else’s, so I never really got any ideas outside of “use log for shortcut….. PROFIT”. I’m pitiful, I know.

Anywho, after completing the zone, the gang finds Ray, Amy, and Silver…. just waltzing around!

SONIC: RAY! AMY!
BLAZE: SILVER!

SILVER: Huh?
RAY: Oh, Sonic’s alive! …..O_O HE’S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!

Ray and Amy run and tackle Sonic to the ground!

SONIC: OOF!!!
AMY: Oh god! I was so worried!
RAY: NEVER LEAVE AGAIN! NEVER LEAVE AGAIN! I just pulled a Charmy! How could you do this to me, Sonic!?
SONIC: Ok, ok! Could you get off me!? I can’t breathe!

They both jump up!

AMY: Oh! Sorry!
KNUCKLES: What? No hugs for us?
AMY: You’d probably have a stroke if I hugged you!
ROUGE: I’d rather not have the little creep jump on me!
RAY: Q_Q

SILVER: It’s good to have you back, Princess!
MIGHTY: Aww jeez.
BLAZE: ……It’s…. good to see you too, Silver.
SILVER: Is… something wrong?
BLAZE: Of course not! I just know how to hide the elation in my voice, that’s all.

SONIC: The gang’s all back together!
RAY: No we’re not! Tails and Jet are still in the desert!
SONIC: Oh… yeah. Man, It’s easy to forget they’re even in this game!
MIGHTY: Tell me about it.
KNUCKLES: It is quite peaceful not having bird badger me!
AMY: Either way, we’ll all have to regroup eventually. Once we get all of the Sol Gems, we should go visit them first.
SONIC: Yeah! And we still have 3 of them!
SILVER: Make that 4!

Silver takes out the yellow gem.

BLAZE: You found another one?
RAY: It burned my ass real good! It’s authentic!
SILVER: Now all we need are 2 more, and our journey is complete!
KNUCKLES: Hmm…. I think I sense another nearby. Those ruins there…
SONIC: Alright! We’re getting closer and closer to being welcomed back in the city! Lets go, guys!
ALL: Yeah!

*Sand Oasis*

Tails and Emerl meet up with Jet.

TAILS: Jet, you have any plans?
JET: What do you mean?
TAILS: Well… I notice you’re gathering a lot of guys…. for some reason. What’s going on?
JET: You remember that rock in the sky?
TAILS: Yeah?
JET: Well we’re going on a little expedition, you see. If we’re gonna be stuck here, I wanna do something meaningful. Everyone keeps talking about that damn island, but no one has ever been to it. So I say we have ourselves a little adventure! What do you say? You in?
TAILS: Huh?
JET: Yeah! You don’t wanna be stuck in that old dump for this whole trip, do yah?
TAILS: I guess not, but I haven’t learned anything on Emerl’s condition!
JET: Yeah, when is this “transformation” supposed to happen?
TAILS: Well… between now and 200 years, but-
JET: 200… hell, that’s enough time for one trip! Come on! Whaddya say!?
TAILS: Well…. yeah, why not!? Besides, I’ve been curious about that island myself! This ok with you, Emerl?
EMERL: Negative!
TAILS: Huh?
EMERL: I will remain on the Ark. If I am to change, I do not wish to bring harm to you all.
TAILS: But if you change here, then…
EMERL: You will have to destroy me. It may be for the best.
TAILS: 😟
JET: Oh well! Just build another one! Come on! Lets go!

Jet drags Tails with him.

EMERL: Good luck……………….. “father”…..

TAILS: So… where are we going?
JET: There’s an artic region north of here. The locals call it “Acropolis”. The mountains should be high enough that we can reach it. Come on!

MESSAGE: Tails and Jet have rejoined the party!

As stated, the next zone is Acropolis. I left out the “White” part as the name would sound too long. I would say imagine the “Blizzard Peak” Zone from Rush 2…. at night time. All the snowboarding sections = GONE!! Fuck that shit in BOTH zones!
Act 1 would take place at ground level, dashing through hills and frozen forests (probably have “the White of Sky” from Secret Rings , play here). Enemies, lets get some cryo wizards in this bitch! Though I don’t remember if there were Gaia Wizards that could freeze you. If not, fuck it, lets just make em up! Act 2, of course you go higher up in the elevation, and here we’d use the music from Blizzard Peak. I think I already had Acropolis’s music used in NS3, so….

As you can tell, I’m not listing any major gimmicks in terms of level design crap as at this point in this series, I’d want there to be a stronger focus on combat, having THAT as the spectacle rather than cheap automated roller coaster gimmicks. Saving that instead for the Mach Speed Zones.

After that, Tails, Jet, and the expedition crew all manage to find their way up the mountain (I forgot to mention that Speedy is also with them, fuck I didn’t do SHIT with this guy, did I!?). While there, Tails sees a greenish glow emitting from beneath the snow.

TAILS: Hey, what’s that!?
JET: What’s what?
SPEEDY: I say, the snow is glowing!

Tails goes digging and finds the Green Sol Gem!

TAILS: It’s some sort of crystal!
SPEEDY: It’s a Sol Gem!
JET: What’s that!?
SPEEDY: A treasure that is sacred to the royal family of Sylvania! How on Earth did it get out here!?
TAILS: I don’t know. But we should return it if it’s that important!
JET: I got a better idea! How about we DON’T!?
TAILS: Jet!?
SPEEDY: You’ve gone mad!?
JET: I don’t recall being obligated to those cats. Never met em, they sound like dicks, and they don’t even let you all into their city. So I say since we’re not welcome, we’re not obligated to return anything to em. Afterall, we can’t get into the city!
TAILS: But then it’s stealing!
JET: Don’t get your panties in a knot, kid. You wanna take it back yourself, I ain’t stoppin yah! Just don’t expect me to join yah! We got rocks to scale!
TAILS: *sighs* Alright. I’ll worry about it later.
JET: Good! Now we’re talkin!

They continue their journey up the mountain.

*Tropical Jungle*

Sonic’s gang makes it up to the ruins, and find the orange Sol Gem amongst the rubble.

SONIC: Cool! 5 down, 1 to go!
RAY: So what’s this one do?
SILVER: The orange gem grants one all the knowledge of the current world that they reside in. The environments, the regions, even the world’s history. The civilizations that existed, the wars that took place-
RAY: AWESOME! Lets use it!
SILVER: Hold on! We can’t just use these gems at will!
ROUGE: Hmph! If we didn’t, Sonic would be long gone!
SILVER: Oh… that’s how you saved him?
SONIC: *Smiles* Yeah, thanks for asking, by the way!
BLAZE: In eithercase, this one is particular is off limits.
SILVER: We’re forbidden from using any of the gems, but the orange one especially.
RAY: That’s great! …..Now use it!
BLAZE: Don’t be so flippant! These are not toys.
MIGHTY: You know, I don’t agree with Ray often, but I think you should.
BLAZE: What!? What are you on about!?
SILVER: You can’t force us to use the gems!
AMY: Silver, don’t you think it’s odd that you’re not allowed to use the one gem that merely grants you knowledge? I mean you have one that can cure diseases, one that grants you super strength, another that creates dangerous fires…. but knowledge is the main one you’re forbidden from using!? The Yellow Gem is far more dangerous!
RAY: You can say that again!
SILVER: Hrmm…
MIGHTY: If you used that one, we wouldn’t have had to guess on how to kill that flaming snake earlier, did we?
KNUCKLES: Perhaps we could understand why a demigod was held in chains!
RAY: You still care about that?
ROUGE: *smiles* And who knows? Maybe you’ll find out why Silver won’t say your name if you’re still so pressed about it!
BLAZE: Uh….
SILVER: HOLD ON!!! Why would THAT be important!?
AMY: Wouldn’t you want to know why the felines and our ancestor went to war with each other!?
SILVER: Well… I mean…
SONIC: Well lets put it this way. Blaze is a member of the royal family of Sylvania. Therefore, she’s entitled to possession of the Sol Gems. When or if she becomes Queen, who can really tell her she can’t use them? They’ll be her sole responsibility, pun intended.
BLAZE: But that’s when I become a Queen! I’m not ready for this kind of power yet!
SONIC: *sighs* Well If you guys won’t use it, then I will!
SILVER: No!
BLAZE: What benefit would you have to using it yourself?!
SONIC: To find our way back home!
KNUCKLES: Sonic.
SONIC: Guys, I almost died! I damn sure ain’t about to hang around here any longer!
SILVER: I understand you’re frustrated, Sonic, but you can’t belligerently use things that don’t belong to you!
SONIC: Minus the Cyan Gem.
SILVER: Fine, that was an emergency! But this is-

Blaze then takes up the gem.

SILVER: Princess?
BLAZE: ……Actually, I am curious as to who Mephilis is, and why he wishes to hunt us down!
SILVER: But you-
BLAZE: I’m aware, Silver. But… it’s for the good of the Kingdom.

Everyone watches in anticipation as Blaze grasps the gem in hand.

And suddenly, several visions enter her mind in a flash! The formation of the Sol Clan, the infusion of the Yellow Gem’s power into the blood of said clan, the truth of the Sol Wars

BIRD: WE COME IN PEACE! WE SWEAR!

And the felines burned them to death anyway. The Iblis conflict revealing that the Felines deliberately hid their weakness to water in order to maintain their power and status…. and even worse…. showing Queen Hathor killing a female feline that looked like Blaze.

HATHOR: This child deserves a mother that won’t raise her up to be a tyrant!

Suddenly, Blaze drops the gem and covers her eyes!

BLAZE: NOO!!
SILVER: Princess!

Mighty, Amy, and Silver all go to her aid.

AMY: Hey, are you alright!? Breathe!
BLAZE: Oh god! Oh god!
AMY: Take it easy! Just tell us what you saw!
BLAZE: The Babylonians came in peace, but the felines slaughtered them anyway!
RAY: Don’t tell Jet that!
SONIC & MIGHTY: Shut up, Ray!
SILVER: What else did you see!?
BLAZE: Our pyrokinetic powers actually came from the Yellow gem!
SILVER: …What!?
BLAZE: There was never a Sun God! They made him up just to achieve power and status amongst the other felines! They lied about Iblis’s weakness to water just so no one would think less of them!
MIGHTY: I could’ve told you that.
SILVER: And what else!?
BLAZE: ….Silver… Hathor… she isn’t my real mother!
ALL: WHAT!?
BLAZE: I don’t know who that woman was, but I saw myself as an infant… and Hathor burned that woman alive, proclaiming I deserved a mother that wasn’t… a tyrant!
SONIC: ….Jesus.
RAY: So who is Hathor?
ROUGE: I don’t know, but she’s got a LOT of explaining to do!
SONIC: Yeah, I say we pay her a nice visit!
SILVER: But we haven’t found all of the-
MIGHTY: Screw that noise! This chick has been lying to all of us from the start!
AMY: She’s not the rightful ruler of Sylvania!
MIGHTY: Which means her orders mean jack (bleep) to us!

Blaze stands up.

BLAZE: So we’re all in agreement to head back!?
SILVER: Princess, no! If you go back now, who knows what she may do to you!
BLAZE: If it comes to that, I will slay her myself!
SILVER: You’re willing to fight her!?
BLAZE: If that’s what it takes!

Blaze marches off.

MIGHTY: Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Everyone starts leaving… until…

KNUCKLES: Wait a minute!
SONIC: What’s up Knux?
KNUCKLES: …..Perhaps we should heed Silver’s words for the time being.
SILVER: Huh? You think so?
ROUGE: Are you serious right now!? You heard what the lady said!
KNUCKLES: Blaze, did that gem reveal any means of how we may escape this world?
BLAZE: Er… no, nothing.
KNUCKLES: Then our only viable means of return still remain with Hathor!
RAY: Oh crap, he’s right.
AMY: Knuckles, I can’t believe you’re actually saying this!
SONIC: For all we know, Hathor’s been lying to us the whole time about being able to return us home!
MIGHTY: Er…. not quite.
SONIC: What!?
BLAZE: That much is actually true. We have sent many travelers back to their worlds.
SONIC: Then tell us how!
BLAZE: Even if I did, it would not work without the Queen’s blessing.
AMY: Blessing!?
SILVER: A magical safeguard to keep potential threats from escaping justice.
KNUCKLES: Then my point still stands. Confronting her now would invoke her wrath rather than her blessing required to return us home. I suggest we wait and recover the 6th Sol Gem before returning.
SONIC: You really wanna leave them hanging like that!?
KNUCKLES: I’m not suggesting gathering rope and tying them up to a tree! But I am saying that they have their quarrel after we have departed!
ROUGE: Don’t you see that they’re going to be short handed in dealing with an entire army!?
KNUCKLES: That is NOT our concern! Our entire purpose for going on this quest was to ensure our way home! And you are about to compromise that by involving yourselves in a conflict that has nothing to do with us!
SONIC: But if we leave them behind, they could be killed!
KNUCKLES: I am sorry Sonic, but that is the essential selfishness of survival!
SONIC: You’ve gotta be kidding me!
AMY: Well you can go be selfish, Knuckles! Silver’s my family, and I’m not about to abandon-
KNUCKLES: I HAVE FAMILY BACK HOME AS WELL!!!
ALL: ………
KNUCKLES: So do the rest of you! What makes them all less important than him!?
SILVER: ……..
BLAZE: ……….
RAY: Sheesh! All this drama! The funny part is Hathor would still probably kill yah since you’re an Echidna!
KNUCKLES: Ergh! Hmm…. I forgot about that detail.
MIGHTY: Leave it to Ray to break all the tension.
SONIC: Well, then it’s settled! We deal with her as planned.
KNUCKLES: But how will we get back home!?

Sonic places a hand on Knuckles’s shoulder.

SONIC: We’ll find another way. I promise.
KNUCKLES: ……..I will definitely hold you to that!

Ok, after all THAT shit, the next destination is “Kingdom Valley”. I’d retain all the elements of the original with the exception of the 4th act (the parted waters Mach Speed Zone). The Gaian Wizards here would be in full force, mostly occupying the inner towers.
ACT 1 would focus on the Windy Valley-esque portion with the wind grind… things, making up the majority of the loops and branching paths (in a similar fashion to the beam bridges from the Death Egg zone). ACT 2, based on the “Lakeside” portions. The Gaian would be CRAMMED into this area, and there are 2 sections where you’re on a platform that floats down the river, and you’d have to keep it afloat by killing all the Gaian that keep landing on it. IE the more enemies on top, the more weight…. that kind of shit. You’ll also be dealing Titans, the big fucks with the clubs. You’d have at least 4 in Act 2 alone, none for the raft sections as that would be overkill. Oh yeah, none of those jump ropes. Hated that shit.

*Sylvania*

Knuckles waited outside of the kingdom again to avoid a scene. the gang makes it inside to see the city in ruins.

SONIC: They haven’t repaired anything!?
SILVER: No. This damage seems recent.
AMY: They’ve must’ve been suffering Gaian attacks since we’ve left.
SILVER: They’ll blame us for it. I know it.
BLAZE: ………..
ROUGE: Who cares about them? We have a false Queen to depose!
BLAZE: Of course!

You can browse around town for a bit, run by the shop and get a new costume even. Honey will merely bitch about her tavern being in ruins thanks to Gaian, blah blah. Just go to the castle.

*Castle Sylvania*

Sonic and friends enter the castle.

HATHOR: Hmm… that was quite fast, wouldn’t you say? It couldn’t have been so easy to gather all of the Sol Gems!

Mighty steps forward and lays out the 5 they already had on hand.

SILVER: We were able to recover this many so far.
HATHOR: Impressive! Though you are one gem short, to have recovered them so quickly in just a matter of days! I might have to rethink my opinion of this entire group!
ROUGE: *sarcastically* You’re too kind.
HATHOR: Even so, until you recover the last gem, you are still under exile, so..

Hathor then notices a glare in Blaze’s eyes.

HATHOR: …….Is there something you wish to discuss, daughter?
BLAZE: Indeed…. “mother”.
HATHOR: …………..
BLAZE: Do you… harbor a disgust of our ancestors?
HATHOR: I’m afraid I don’t understand the point of this inquiry.
BLAZE: It’s just curiosity on my part. Often, you would comment and lecture me on the tyranny of our previous Queens. How they often would devastate entire peoples and lands for their own purposes. All in an effort to maintain their rule. I just wonder if that… bothered you to be related to such a…. monstrous lineage.
HATHOR: ………Interesting question. Yes, it has bothered me for years! To know that we rule this land through blood shed and conquest, and not one ounce of the natives have accepted our rule willingly? We have such a disgusting precedent. It is no way to rule a kingdom! Our history is one of terror and ambition. One that we must make amends for! It is why I have tried my best… to raise you into a disciplined princess! We will not repeat the mistakes of the past! I will ensure that by any…. means…. necessary!
BLAZE: …….Is that what you told my real mother!? Before you burned her alive!? Was that you making amends!?
HATHOR: ………….And where…. would you get such an atrocious….. and ridiculous idea?

Hathor then looks at the Orange Sol Gem.

HATHOR: ……..
BLAZE: Yes! I used it!
HATHOR: *sighs* …………Even after all of my…. polite warnings…… that you were never to use them-

Blaze quickly picks up the orange gem, and holds it up!

BLAZE: I HAVE MORE RIGHT TO BEAR THESE GEMS THAN YOU EVER DID! MURDERER!!!

As she says that, Hathor’s eyes begin to glow!

HATHOR: What… did you call me!?
SONIC: *grabs hilt* Awwwww hell!

Everyone but Blaze starts backing up!

SILVER: I think you should stop now, Princess!
BLAZE: You heard every word out of my mouth! You MURDERED the real Queen of Sylvania, and took her place! You LIED to me! All of my life!
HATHOR: And yet, you couldn’t see through it?
BLAZE: I never believed you would ever keep secrets from me!
HATHOR: Then I suppose Silver isn’t the only naive person in the kingdom.
SILVER: >_>
HATHOR: Even so, this does not change what is clearly a breach of my strict orders!
BLAZE: Your order only served to disempower me!
HATHOR: FOOL!!!

Hathor then causes a ground explosion that blasts everyone (but Silver) backward!

SONIC: Oof!
MIGHTY: What the hell was that!?
SILVER: Your highness, please calm down!
HATHOR: It was for your own protection! You think the Queens were always safe from those that serve them!? Matriarchs have often been murdered for daring to speak the truth of their history! Feeling that it was worth the risk of losing their prestige and status!? Power is not something you just willingly give up! It is something must always be protected! No matter what!
SONIC: Then how are you any better than the last hundred Queens?!
HATHOR: I don’t abuse such power, you insect! I planned to set a new precedent for all future Queens to follow! I want this kingdom to thrive not on the fallen bodies of innocents, but on the principals of righteousness! But you, Blaze?! No! You are too emotionally compromised to see that!
BLAZE: Why did you kill my mother!?
HATHOR: SHE WAS A DEMONESS!!!! A father of a starving family only stole a piece of lettuce, and they were all exterminated!! She would regularly execute her court jesters and musicians if they failed to amuse her! She would have slaughtered an entire kingdom if even one imperfection existed! Is that the kind of mother you wanted!? I had done what needed to be done!!! for the sake of you and this Kingdom! But I see now…. you are no better than her! Lashing out at servants for spilling a glass of water on you!? How-

And then, out of the blue, Ray just blasts her into a wall!!

BLAZE: WHAT!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?
RAY: ……I got scared!
ROUGE: You moron!
RAY: Uh… run!?
SILVER: Wait!

As they all try to make it to the door, it is then “magically” sealed off!

AMY: A containment spell!?
SILVER: Oh no!

Hathor hovers out of the wall, looking pissed…. as…. fuck.

HATHOR: I see now where this bad influence is coming from! It would appear…. that I must kill you, Blaze! Along with the Outsiders!

Hey gais! Guess what time it is! It’s time for… UN….WIN oh you get the idea.

Tall bitch here is impervious to all damage, and her attacks are focused on causing random explosions in any part of the arena. Also, taking damage from her automatically burns any rings that pop out of you, so there’s that bit of artificial difficulty. So… just lose here and the next scene plays.

Hathor literally towers above the fallen warriors.

SILVER: PLEASE! They’ve had enough! Don’t kill them!
AMY: Silver… help!
HATHOR: You would dare give orders to me, Silver!?
SILVER: No! But they don’t deserve this!
HATHOR: of course they do! They dared to attack me! I offered them shelter, I offered them aid… and they spat in my face!
SONIC: *coughs* All we did…. was bring an Echidna along…. and you spat in ours!

Hathor blows Sonic into a wall!

SONIC: Ergh!
HATHOR: I suggest you mind your tongue, Hedgehog! Your life is insignificant as it is, and I will not check my hand again!
SILVER: Please! He can’t take anymore!

Then she hovers over to Blaze.

HATHOR: And to think that all of this was the result… of a petulant and spoiled little girl!
BLAZE: Demanding answers from an illegitimate Queen isn’t being spoiled! You murdered the rightful heir to the throne-
HATHOR: For the sake of Sylvania! I will eliminate a thousand Queens before I allow this Kingdom to perish!
BLAZE: Then what makes you so much better than those came before you!?
HATHOR: *enraged*

Hathor blasts Blaze all over the area, and continues to do for a while.

HATHOR: The difference is I kill for good reason! Not merely because someone is insolent! Should I make an example of you as well!?

Hathor keeps doing this…. until Silver blasts Hathor to the ground!

HATHOR: HRAGH!
BLAZE: *breathing* Silver!?
SILVER: THAT’S ENOUGH!!!!
HATHOR: ……..Silver!? What is the meaning of this!? YOU WOULD DARE STRIKE ME!?!?
SILVER: ………I made a vow to protect the princess at all costs! If that means having to fight you, then…. then I will! You will harm her no more!!!
MIGHTY: *coughs* Bout time you found a spine!
HATHOR: So you’ve chosen suicide!? Oh, it would be a shame to lose one of such value, but mutinous insurrection is punishable…. BY DEATH!!!

Round 2 of this bitch. Hathor will now teleport around the room while creating randomized explosions. Same rules apply. Rings are perma-lost if you get hit by the explosion. She will only take damage from Action Triggers in this portion, so again your best bet is Sonic since his Action gauge recharges faster, but you can also try Rouge, Amy, and Blaze as they have ranged moves. Rouge’s scream can actually stun Hathor for a few seconds, allowing another player to use their triggers and prevent her from using explosions.

After the fight, Hathor is on the ground, gasping for air.

SILVER: Will you yield, Hathor!?
HATHOR: You’ve corrupted even my most loyal subject! What more will you… Outsiders take from me!?
ROUGE: Well, that treasure room will be a start! All those lovely pearls will go to waste if they stay here!
HATHOR: You’ve seen through the Sol Gem the tyranny of our past Queens, Blaze! I aimed to prevent that! A future where Sylvania is ruled through righteousness!
SILVER: You deceived everyone into believing you were the rightful heir to the throne! Your hands are already tainted!
HATHOR: You fool! Sometimes you must shed blood in order to set things right!
SILVER: Then why keep it a secret?! Why hide what you consider a good deed!?
HATHOR: You think the people would accept that their Queen was murdered!? The Kingdom is prone to accepting the Royal Family as their rulers, corrupt as they are! They would never acknowledge me without good cause!
BLAZE: You are a liar and a murderer!

HATHOR: Silver…. why did you betray me!? For this impetuous girl!?
SILVER: ….Because…. she is my friend!
BLAZE: ……….
HATHOR: “Friend”!? You disobeyed me!! You never to get close to her!!!!
BLAZE: What!? What did you mean by that!?
MIGHTY: Yeah, what’s the deal with that!? Silver’s the only guy she can’t be friends with or something!?
HATHOR: You naive fools! You think I would risk the power he wields to enter to the bloodline of the royal family!?
SILVER: ……………What!? What are you talking about!?
HATHOR: Simple! The descendants of the Sol Clan are prone to corruption because of the power they wield! But it is only that way because they are the ones who could destroy the Gaian! That significance has wained over generations as new Gaian have arisen! What would be the point of the royal family if the entire reason they ruled was because of the protection they offered…. no longer mattered?!
But you?! You are a risk! I knew fully well that you and Blaze were too close! A breed between you 2 would create a future Queen with the powers of Psychokinesis and Pyrokinesis! Making her and her direct descendants far more powerful than the Queens before! I did everything to ensure such an abomination would NEVER come to fruition! Just imagine the hell she would raise by her own powers alone!

Blaze looks furious while Silver steps back

RAY: ………Holy (bleep)!
BLAZE: You… you’re a monster!!!
???: I agree!

Suddenly, a large shard sprouts from Hathor’s body!

HATHOR: GRAAAAAAAAAAH!!!
AMY: Oh my God!!
SONIC: What the….

They all turn around to see Mephilis using the Dark Spire on her!

MEPHILIS: the only course of action is to rid this world of her!!!

He generates more shards through her! As well, the entire castle gets covered in crystalized spires!

SONIC: FRY HIM, RAY!!!

Ray fires a Solar beam at Mephilis, but it reflects off of him and impacts the ceiling!

RAY: Well crap! I guess we’re all dead!
MEPHILIS: Hahahahahahahahah! This kingdom will fall! And then.. Soleanna itself will face the wrath of the Destroyer!
MIGHTY: Who or what are you!?

Mephilis then warps out! The castle continues to crystalize.

SILVER: The kingdom is in danger! We have to get the people out of here!
AMY: We’re on it! Lets go everyone!

Amy, Mighty, Ray, and Rouge all leave. Silver and Blaze look at each other briefly…. before Silver turns away and leaves. Blaze then looks back to Hathor.

BLAZE: Maybe you were right to do what you did. Maybe you had a greater vision for Sylvanian prosperity…. but you did so through death and deceit! Your hands were soiled long ago.
HATHOR: Soleanna was forged through death and deceit, you petulant child! *coughs* That’s all it has ever been about!
BLAZE: Perhaps…. but you could’ve been so different. Set a much better example. But you are no better than those that came before. *turns around* Goodbye…. “mother”

And then Blaze leaves. Sonic hesitates to leave, wanting to free Hathor from her death bed.

HATHOR: Is the blank slate taking pity on me?! Don’t insult me anymore than I already have been!
SONIC: …..For all you know, I could be the one to help you out! I still have that Cyan Gem, you know!
HATHOR: Leave me! I deserve this.
SONIC: ……Alright.

Sonic heads for the exit…. until he stop and puts his sword down.

SONIC: You maybe right about me being a “blank slate”…. but if I learned anything from this, I know I have a lot more freedom than you ever did. Not being tied down to a history or an important role in the world made it possible for me to have an open mind! To have a different perspective in life! I don’t have to keep up appearances just so others can respect me! I don’t get into a beef with others over a lineage that has nothing to do with our present situation! Just think of all the trouble you and everyone around here has gone through just to hold onto their power! What it does to people! Hell, look where it got you!
HATHOR: ………
SONIC: Yeah, I don’t know where I come from, or what my purpose is in life, and maybe I am just going around seeking thrills. But…. it made me a better person! Sad way to look at it, but you can’t argue with results!

Sonic takes up his sword and leaves for the exit.

SONIC: Being an orphan has it’s perks too!

HATHOR: ……..*smiles* Good….

And she perishes as more shards engulf her.

END OF ACT 2

Ummmm….. what the hell? (DBZ)

Well… that’s new….

Off my chest: Fanservice Sequels

Recently, I watched Godzilla: King of the Monsters. I missed it when it was in theaters, but hell.

Idk about you guys, but outside of seeing Rodan kick ass, I’m actually very dissappointed in how the film presents itself. It feels less like a sequel and more like a Michael Bay fanboy took the director’s seat and thought that the first movie wasn’t cartoony enough. And…. for me, it just… doesn’t work.

The first film took on the airs of a disaster movie, and just showed the level of impact these giant monsters had on several cities in the world. And it was always done from the perspective of the humans so that the weight of these giant monster clashes could be felt. Sure it’s not as exciting for the Kaijuu fights to be background noise, but it actually worked rather well! The one big issue with all these Kaijuu movies was that you never really felt the weight or impact of their battles. Tokyo was always getting trashed, but we would always fuck off to a military base or rural area that’s never affected by the Kaijuu. The 2014 film actually did this pretty well! There was an impact by what the big bastards were doing! It didn’t end off at some beach front docks or in a military base. It ended off in the ruins of a city. The movie focused on what kind of damage these monsters could cause.

This one focused on giant monsters “kicking ass”. In an attempt to not tease audiences like the last film did by keeping the monster fighting to the end, it comes at the expense of what made the first film so awesome. The wanton destruction that these monsters could wreak upon the world. Instead, most of the monster action is kept outside of the cities. Mostly held in the ice caps or in the sky. But the cities? Oh no, we’ll reserve that for Rodan and the final battle, and even then, the mayhem is kept to a minimum.

But you know what? That’s no even close to the worst part.

You know the human characters, right? In the first movie, they acted like real people? Which in turn made the film feel more life-like? How the military acted like logical, rational thinking human beings primarily concerned with saving lives, even if they have to resort to drastic measures to ensure it? And weren’t allied with any monster? Yeah… fuck that shit! Lets go back to using tried and true hollywood tropes of…

Quippy Nerd!
Quippy Token Negro!
Mystical Philosophical Asians!
Bleeding heart scientist who wants to control and befriend monsters!
Dumb, idiot military who makes things worse!
Vengeful Father who hates Monsters for killing a family member!
Idiot Terrorist who wants to weaponize Monsters…. or something!
Stupid teenager who stands and screams when she’s about to get fried by Ghidorah!

By the numbers, it’s practically a multiplication table! I have no idea why they thought putting in “characters” instead of “people” would actually make this movie better. Oh I get it, people said the human characters were boring in the first movie, right? Well, what can you really expect from the guy who played Kickass? He only has one emotion. But see… it played to the film’s strength because no one in the movie had to be a “character”, they were just normal people trying to make sense of, and solve a wide scale problem. Sure the Asian spouted philosophical shit from time to time and I suppose that was to make the movie feel more in tune with it’s Japanese origin? Here, he’s no better than the Asian girl who’s hair was literally designed to look like the chick from “Godzilla vs Space Godzilla”.

That’s another thing that bothers me. The overwhelming amount of fanservice is every bit as cynical and lazy as was Endgame. Midway through the movie, either because it came out of nowhere or because I wasn’t paying attention, dumb military general decides to use the “Oxygen Destroyer”, the infamous weapon used in the original movie to kill Godzilla, and it results in nothing more than making Godzilla a little drowsy, and does jack shit to Ghidorah. The Oxygen Destroyer is a giant pussy in this movie! We have pictures of the always annoying Mothra twins, those spiders from the Godzilla Junior films and whatnot, and at the end, we have MELTDOWN GODZILLA! You know, that version of Godzilla that would’ve caused a mass extinction event and was supposed to serve as the true death of Godzilla in the 90s? Yeah, that one is just a Super Saiyan in the movie. And all he does is a little shockwave that doesn’t even completely level the city if I recall.

You know, if they focused so much on fanservice, why don’t the monsters have their original fucking roars!? They all have these factory manufactured roars for damn near everyone except Godzilla, most likely because Japan is a country full of stingy bastards who probably charged more for the iconic roars than the monsters themselves. Only bits and pieces of their roars are imitated rather than full on utilized, and that defeats the purpose of fanservice if you ask me. Not only that, but Mothra? Hah! Doesn’t even have all of her powers and instead gets a little gay stinger. And then she dies. And her design is crap.

But what REALLY drives home how lame this movie is has to be the directing itself. Said female scientist tries to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla so that he can recover, and after getting blown off her ass, she rolls over and says “Long live the king” before Godzilla goes Super Saiyan. That is if said teenager standing and screaming as Ghidorah was about to light her up before Godzilla used atomic breath on it… didn’t convince. Or if Godzilla walking up until the military rolls in from behind and starts launching missiles and bullets…. didn’t convince. Or if Serizawa’s “noble sacrifice” to give Godzilla a power boost…. didn’t convince. Or Rodan having all the slick ways to destroy the military…. didn’t convince. Then the ending shot of all the monsters gathering around Godzilla and literally BOWING DOWN to him to acknowledge that he is “King of the Monsters” will! Followed by end credits with rock music talking about how awesome Godzilla is.

In other words, the movie “thinks/knows” its too cool for you, and is for the fratboys to go “FUCK YEAH” or “OOHHHH SHIT!!!”

I guess the issue stems from how inconsistent this movie feels to the first one. It’s so different in it’s direction and flow that it doesn’t feel like it’s a part of the same series. Instead of building up on what made the first film so unique and interesting, it instead dumps all of that in favor of “rule of cool” And that would be ok if it didn’t feel so fake. The first movie had some weight to it’s action. You were immersed into the destruction. Children on a bus were screaming in sheer TERROR of Godzilla’s appearance. The point of the movie was to make the monsters terrifying. Instead now, the objective is to make the monsters cool. I suppose it’s Hollywood’s way of holding up a mirror. Godzilla and other giant monster movies started off as horror films, and then they shifted to kids movies in order to compete with Ultraman. Same thing happened here, and it’s easy to see how the quality has dipped down.

Be that as it may, King of the Monsters isn’t the first sequels that is a victim of fanservice. TMNT 2 featuring actual foot ninjas, Rocksteady and Bebop, Krang and the Technodrone all felt hideously forced. The studio assumed that by shoving in all the elements we enjoyed from the cartoon, we would love the film more. That assumption didn’t pan out at all.

Same thing happened with Castlevania Lords of Shadow. The first game had absolutely nothing to do with Castlevania, while the second game made an attempt to “look” and feel like an actual Castlevania game. And apparently, it bombed.

See, I think the problem is (at least with westerners) is that they’re pretty arrogant the first time around and make the assumption that “well, we have to do this OUR way because… it won’t please the audiences if we did it the traditional way”. Then when the reception is bad, they start thinking “Oh shit, guess our way didn’t work afterall, guess we’ll have to shove in a shit ton of fanservice to make up for the poor feedback!”. I can almost assume that is what will happen if that dreaded Sonic movie ever got a sequel. You have this premise of “How Sonic first met Robotnik” and that’s why Jim Carry plays himself and not a mad scientist, and then the sequel would have an actual Robotnik, Tails would be in there, probably Knuckles played by Terry Crews, and Amy looking like some terrifying version of Lola Bunny. Actually, some of you fucks would prefer that. 😛

It’s happening a little too much. You can’t make a movie based off of a pre-existing property, and put your own spin on it that never makes the fans happy, and then have them wait several years down the line for an appropriate sequel only for those same fans to not show up because they were already burned once. Amazing Spiderman had a similar issue. It tried to be a serious take on Spiderman only for people to hate it, and then no one cares about the sequel that gives Spiderman a more appropriate costume, more comedy, more jokes, and a less asshole spidey overall. Oh and we need to have Gwen Stacy die by the Green Goblin just to coincide with the most infamous death in comics, only for it to come out half-baked, forced, and depressing for literally no reason.

Course, I don’t know how well KOTM did, but shoving in all the fan favorite monsters into one movie did not make it a better movie. Changing all the human characters to Hollywood tropes didn’t make it a better movie. It probably did for the douchebag fans online who are amused with the same monsters destroying the same cities over and over again, but not those that were expecting an actual sequel.