By Voltz Megawatt
Hello, all. Voltz Megawatt here. This is my long-anticipated Off Da Wall, “Rumblings of Evil”. This thing is my masterpiece—28 pages of Off Da Wall goodness. Thanks to everyone for letting me use their characters. Enjoy your cameos…;-) This is intended to be more serious than funny, but I did put some comedy. Actions/narratives are between asterisks (stars), locations are centered and italicized, and thoughts are in parenthesis. By the way, there are some references to the Civil War. That is Ganon’s RPI, and he’s turning it into an Off Da Wall. That has a small ending scene that leads to this ODW. Read it. Anyway, enough of my blabbing, folks. Hope you like it…(you’d bloody better like it—it took me two months.)
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Starwing HQ, Surrey…
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It is a dark, stormy night in Surrey, England. Outside of Starwing HQ’s protective walls, rain pummels the ground, while numerous thunderclaps cause the earth to tremble. In the cloudy, moonless dark, only flashes of lightening can illuminate the seemingly endless gloom. However, within the interviewers’ compound, all of the Star Fox interviewers are protected from the elements. Voltz Megawatt, since he has electric powers, usually enjoys thunderstorms and lightning. But this storm is big enough and bad enough to make even him edgy. He now sits in the lounge, playing cards with several other interviewers in the dim candlelight. Ever since the power went out, all the interviewers have been excessively nervous. And now, after this insanely long intro, our story begins…
Voltz: Got any threes?
Amy: No.
Lady Nightshade: Nope.
Pete: Sorry.
Jolteon: Go fish.
Voltz draws a card from the deck, looks at it briefly, then puts it with the rest of his cards in his left hand. A sudden blast of thunder shakes the compound, causing Voltz to drop his cards everywhere
Voltz: Ah, well. I was losing anyway.
Lady: Want to pick another game?
Jolteon: Nah, let’s just put this one away. I don’t think games will help much.
Amy: Very well.
While Amy goes to put up the card deck, Voltz begins to pace in front of the huge bay window. His fur is standing on end, and he is biting his lip. It is obvious that it is more than just the storm that troubles him.
Voltz: When will they get here…?
Lady: Pardon?
In his undivided concentration and worry, Voltz’s sensitive ears had somehow missed Lady Nightshade’s stealthy approach.
Voltz: Wha…Oh, sorry, LN. Didn’t know you were there.
Lady: Something’s bothering you, V. What is it?
Voltz: …Do you remember when I invited over Tails, Shadow, Knuckles and Sonic?
Lady: I think so, yes.
Voltz: Well, as of now they’re out in the storm.
Lady: Doesn’t really seem much of a reason to worry to me.
Voltz: It’s not just that. You see, the last time I parted with my old friend Shadow, we were kind of…enemies. I’m a little tense about how smooth this will go.
Lady: A little tense? To be honest, you’re like a cat on a hot tin roof. Just how much did you hate each other?
Voltz: We got into a fight and I shocked him. Fortunately, there was a hospital nearby.
Lady: You actually shocked Shadow? Okay, now I see why you’re tense…Come on. It’s not safe to stand by a window during a storm.
Voltz: All right. I could use a snack anyway.
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Someplace outside the compound…
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Four figures trudge through the muddy pathway, finally emerging from the dark, damp confines of the forest. One of them, the one that appears as the leader of the small party, steps in the direction of the compound.
Sonic: Here we are!
Knuckles: Now let’s get inside! It’s pointless to stand here in the rain!
Tails: Yeah! Let’s go in before we catch pneumonia!
Shadow: Are you positive that it’s safer inside?
Sonic: …No. But hey, at least it’s dry in there.
Shadow: …Very well.
Sonic: Okay, I’ll go ring the doorbell. Come on.
The small band of four walks confidently up the stairs to the HQ’s front door, where Sonic presses the doorbell. In response, a computer voice is heard
Computer: Access denied. Voice recognition and password required for entry.
Sonic: Password is “Nintendo Forever”.
Computer: Password correct. Voice pattern identified. You are clear to enter.
The large door mechanically swings open, and the four individuals step into a foyer, where they hang up their coats and hats. Then, the sound of footsteps from the other end of the foyer penetrates the silence…
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Back inside the HQ…
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Voltz is just finishing up his dog biscuit when he hears the doorbell.
Voltz: I guess that would be my guests. Would you all mind serving as a reception committee with me?
Jolteon: Sure.
Amy: Whatever.
Lady: I don’t mind.
Pete: . Ahh…beer…hic!
Voltz: …Then I guess that’s four of us. Perfect.
The welcome committee heads toward the door to the foyer, where they stand and await their guests. After what seems like hours, the door finally opens, letting Sonic, Knuckles and Tails inside.
Voltz: Hello, Sonic…Knuckles…Tails…
As Voltz welcomes them, Jolteon, Lady Nightshade and Amy begin to look around.
Jolteon: Voltz, I thought you said Shadow was coming, too…Where is he?
Shadow: Behind you.
Jolteon turns around to see Shadow.
Jolteon: …Shadow…? How’d you get back there?
Shadow: You should know that. I can travel at the speed of sound.
Before this time, Shadow hadn’t noticed Voltz.
Voltz: Hello, Shadow.
Shadow: Well, if it isn’t Voltz Megawatt…
Voltz: I trust you’ve recovered well?
Shadow: From what, falling out of the sky in SA2, or being fried by you?
Voltz swallows.
Voltz: I see you still remember that…
Shadow: How could I forget? You almost burned it into my brain.
Voltz: Hopefully, we have risen above that conflict.
Shadow smiles…just slightly.
Shadow: …Yes. Yes, I believe we have.
Now his smile is a bit more prominent, and he chuckles. Soon he and Voltz embrace each other like the long-separated pals they are, and start to walk back toward the recreation room.
Tails: This is a nice facility, but it sure is creepy in candlelight!
Knuckles: Oh, shut up you whiny little two-tailed brat!
Tails: Hey!
The group of eight now sits down in the darkened lounge.
Tails: I’m bored.
Knuckles: You’re always bored.
Tails: Am not!
Knuckles: Are too!
Tails: AM NOT!
Knuckles: ARE TOO!
Tails: NOT!
Knuckles: TOO!
Sonic and Shadow: SHUT UP!
Tails: …
Knuckles: …
Tails: …
Knuckles: …
Tails: …
Knuckles: …
Tails: …I’m still bored.
Lady: I think we have a Gamecube here…
Jolteon: But the power’s out!
Voltz: Yeah!
Amy: Not for long…
Amy grins and looks at Voltz and Jolteon
Voltz and Jolteon: Uh-oh…
Voltz and Jolteon end up using their electrical abilities to power the GCN for Sonic, Shadow, Amy and Lady Nightshade as they play SA2 Battle. Knuckles and Tails go over to the corner to continue their argument.
Shadow: No one can beat me!
Sonic: Think again!
Lady: Ha! I got both of you!
Amy: Yeah! I gotcha, LN!
Voltz: Oi…
Jolteon: And I thought I had luck…
Tails: NOT!
Knuckles: TOO!
Suddenly, the power comes back. The Gamecube can’t stand the added power and explodes.
Shadow: Hey!
Pete’s voice can be heard from the kitchen…
Pete: Ahhhh!
Voltz: What’s wrong with Pete?
Jolteon: Probably another argument with his brain cell…
Pete: It’s GUN! It’s GUN!
Jolteon: What?!
Pete rushes into the room, being shot at by several robots.
Jolteon: Blast! It is GUN!
Aroused by the commotion, Rouge, Grey Wolf and Cackoo come down the stairs.
Rouge: What’s all this noise a—AHH!
A laser bolt narrowly misses Rouge. Her combat instincts kick in, and she pulls a gun from her waistband. With two well-placed shots, one of the robots falls back on the other two. Seizing the moment, she rushes everyone out into the rain.
Rouge: Move! Move! Move!
Rouge blasts another robot, and the other one explodes, having been hit with one of Voltz’s Thunderbolts. Satisfied, she and Voltz run out of the HQ and bar the door.
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Three miles away from the HQ…in a cave…
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Our heroes have escaped. They sit anxiously in an old cave, hoping the rock will block GUN’s sensors. The thunderstorm seems worse here. The ground has turned to mud from the rain, and everyone is soaked and dirty. In the darkness, only the electric glow lent by Jolteon allows everyone to see.
Voltz: I wonder how long we’ll have to be in here…
Rouge: Just until there’s a lull in the patrols.
Lady: Oh, I wonder what’s become of the other interviewers…I feel as though we’ve abandoned them…
Shadow: They are probably being held in a detention cell somewhere by now. GUN isn’t known for hospitality, either.
Sonic: We have to help them, somehow!
Rouge: We won’t be able to for a while. We might as well settle down for the night…
Jolteon: I’m tired. Can I stop making my hands glow now?
Tails: Sure! I’ll just use my lamp!
Knuckles: You mean to tell us that you’ve had a durn lamp all this time, and never told us? You almost made Jolteon’s batteries go out!
Tails: Did not!
Knuckles: Did too!
Tails: Not!
Knuckles: Too!
Sonic and Shadow: Oh, shut up already!
The two hedgehogs slap duct tape over the mouths of Tails and Knuckles.
Jolteon: Thank you! Now hurry up with that lamp! I’m nearly worn out!
Grey Wolf reaches into Tails’ coat pocket and pulls out a small lamp. He activates it, and sits it on the floor. Jolteon sighs as he powers down, and then falls backward…right into Rouge’s lap. Rouge and Jolteon duck down beneath a stalactite and proceed to make out with each other. Their kissing can be heard by everyone.
Voltz: That’s disturbing, to say the least. I think I’m going to explore a bit further into the cave. Anybody wanna come?
Grey Wolf, Shadow and Sonic step forward. The others stay behind to keep an eye out for GUN. In a few minutes, the four men are crawling through the pitch-dark confines of the cave.
Grey Wolf: I can’t see a thing!
Voltz: Hold on a second…
Voltz pulls out his lightning bolt-shaped crystal necklace. The pendant glows, lighting the path.
Voltz: There. That better?
Grey Wolf nods.
Grey Wolf: Not bad…
The group proceeds forward. Finally, they come to a huge grotto.
Sonic: Wow! This is big!
Shadow: Everyone split up. We can cover more ground.
Everyone splits up, and Voltz makes his crystal glow a bit brighter for everyone to see. Grey Wolf goes straight to the other side of the cavern, and immediately makes a discovery…
Grey Wolf: What’s this? It looks like a door…a pretty big one, too! HEY, GUYS! YOU MIGHT WANT TO SEE THIS!
Shadow, Sonic and Voltz rush over to Grey Wolf, and they see the door.
Sonic: Pretty big door.
Shadow: No kidding.
Voltz: I think I see writing! Help me dust this thing off!
Within a few minutes, the dust is cleared from the text.
Voltz: It says: “Behind these doors is the answer to all life’s questions; knowledge as never experienced. Whosoever uses this will achieve mental standards never before reached. But beware, such power has its consequences! Only the Chosen One, the one with the Sacred Key, is capable of controlling this power…”
Sonic: What did it mean by the “Sacred Key”?
Shadow swipes more dust off the door, revealing a small, circular cut in the ancient metal.
Voltz: I think I’ve got it…
Grey Wolf: Got what?
Voltz swallows, saying nothing. He slides a small, golden ring off his finger. The ring has embedded in it seven jewels, evenly spaced around the circumference of the ring. The jewels vary in color: green, blue, red, yellow, white, purple, and periwinkle. Shadow recognizes the gems instantly.
Shadow: Those are the Chaos Emeralds! How did you get them that small?
Voltz: Use your head, Shadow. The emeralds had to be cut to have their shape, didn’t they? I just took some of the pieces that were cut off.
Voltz, his hand shaking with adrenaline, inserts the ring into the slot shaped like it. The door slowly begins to creak open…
Grey Wolf: That ring is the Key?!
As the doors open, blue light fills the grotto, and Voltz lets his eyes return to normal. When the doors are done opening, it is evident that the light is coming from a pedestal in the center of the newly opened room.
Sonic: What’s on that pedestal?
Voltz: I plan to find out…
Voltz strides slowly and confidently into the illuminated chamber, all the way up to the pedestal. Sitting on the plinth is a golden headband. In the front of the golden headband is an upside-down golden triangle, slightly larger than the golden squares that make up the rest of the ancient relic. Embossed into the triangle is a luminescent blue gem, of the same shape as its frame. This jewel alone is what lights the room.
Sonic: Oh, man! That thing must be thousands of years old!
Shadow: Try it on for size, Voltz. After all, you did have the key.
Voltz reaches out, and his hand clasps gently over the priceless artifact. He lifts it up off the pedestal, and fastens it around his forehead, the triangular stone right in the middle of his brow. At first, nothing happens…then, Voltz begins to tremble. After nearly thirty seconds of minor convulsions, he opens his eyes.
Shadow: Voltz? Are you alright?
Voltz: Actually Shadow, I’ve never felt better…I feel…focused, alert. My head’s never been so…wait! What’s that?
Sonic: What’s what?
Voltz: Hurry up! Get out of here! This cave is collapsing!
The floor begins to crack apart, revealing the fact that there is lava beneath the rock.
Sonic: I heartily agree! Let’s jet!
The four individuals race out of the cave, and are at the entrance to the grotto when Voltz realizes something…
Voltz: My ring! I forgot my ring!
Shadow: Forget it, Voltz! It’s too dangerous to go back!
Shadow’s words fall on deaf ears. Voltz begins to leap over the bubbling, lava-filled cracks in the direction of the huge doors. He moves very quickly, his now enhanced senses alerting him of any sudden cracking or any jets of superheated lava. Finally, to the surprise of his companions, he makes it to the doors. He quickly snatches his ring, and fits it back over his finger. But, by this time, the pieces of ground that were floating on the lava are almost completely submerged. Most appear little bigger than a man’s foot. Quickly and fluidly, Voltz hops from stone to stone until he is back to where his companions await him. Without questioning the surprising feat of concentration and coordination, all four of them rush out of the grotto just as the entire roof caves in.
Lady: I wonder what’s keeping them so long?
Amy: You know how guys are. They’re probably digging for buried treasure…
A low, rumbling noise is heard over the thunder.
Cackoo: What was that…?
Lady: It sounds like the cave is collapsing!
Tails manages to get rid of the duct tape covering his mouth.
Tails: We need to get out of here! This cave can’t hold up to much!
Lady: Well what about the guys?!
In answer to her question, Voltz, Shadow, Sonic, and Grey Wolf run out into their part of the cave. They are battered and covered in rock dust, and Voltz is wearing a strange headband with a glowing jewel.
Amy: Where have you been?!
Sonic: No matter! Grab the love bugs over there and let’s get out of here!
Knuckles, the strongest of the group, grabs Jolteon and Rouge by their shirts and runs out after the others, still with tape over his mouth.
The cave collapses soon after they all leave. At first they are relieved, but then they discover that they are face-to-face with a platoon of GUN robots…and looking straight down their gun barrels.
Amy: Ohhh, not good!
Jolteon and Rouge have FINALLY stopped kissing.
Jolteon: We’ll have to fight our way out!
Everyone goes combat-ready. Voltz’s eyes begin to glow white, and his Charger Rod appears in his hands. Amy draws her photon buster, and Lady Nightshade activates her beamscythe. Knuckles takes on a fighting pose, and Rouge brandishes two sub-machinegun pistols. Shadow charges up his Chaos Spear attack, while Sonic does the same with his Sonic Wind. Tails uses a communicator to summon his jet/walker, the Cyclone. Cackoo readies his staff, Holy One, as Jolteon charges himself up, ready for a Thunderkick. Grey Wolf reaches into his coat and pulls out a foot-long tube, and telescopes it into a seven-foot pole. Pete wields an empty beer bottle.
Jolteon: CHARGE!
The interviewers maniacally charge the robots, utterly trashing them with their weapons…save Pete, who breaks his immediately. Voltz attacks fiercely, his improved intuition letting him know of any danger. In minutes, the interviewers are standing amidst a tangled mass of scrap metal and robotic limbs.
Voltz: Whew…I’m winded!
Shadow: GUN must’ve tried to kill us by causing that cave-in…
Amy: Look! The platoon leader is escaping!
Voltz sees the lead robot running away as fast as his metal legs can carry him.
Voltz: He’s no problem…Lightning Surge!
Voltz’s eyes turn white, and he fires a steady surge of lightning from both hands. The dual blast hits the robot, short circuiting it.
Lady: Nifty…not only can you blow things up beyond repair, you can also screw up computers even better than Microsoft.
Voltz: ¬_¬ Come on. We can use the information in his computer brain to see what GUN is up to…Tails, do you have a CD-ROM with you or something?
Tails: Here you go!
Tails tosses Voltz a diskette. Voltz goes over to the deactivated automaton, and removes some of its exterior plating, exposing its central CPU. He inserts the diskette and starts a download.
Computer Voice: Download complete.
Voltz takes the disk and hands it to Tails in his walker.
Voltz: Can you decode that?
Tails: Not here. We need to go somewhere safe.
An approaching force of robots ten times bigger than the last group can be heard coming their way.
Shadow: I agree. Tails, take your jet and meet us at Eggman’s temple base. The rest of us will warp there. I can’t generate enough power to warp us all, though. Jolteon, can you use Chaos Control well now?
Jolteon: I’m still rusty, but I think I can.
Shadow: Good. Sonic?
Sonic: I’ll try!
Shadow: On three. One…two…three!
Shadow, Sonic and Jolteon: Chaos…CONTROL!
The distinctive purple aura of Chaos Control appears, and everyone jumps into it. It closes just as the army of robots comes around the corner.
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Desert Area…inside Dr. Eggman’s base pyramid…
----
The purple aura appears in Eggman’s control room, and everyone tumbles out into a pile on the floor.
Dr. Eggman: Shadow? Rouge? What are you doing here? And who are they?
Rouge: Hello, Doc. Don’t worry—old friends.
Eggman: Ah…wha…? Sonic? Knuckles? How are they friends?
Shadow: If you’ll remember the end of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, we joined forces.
Eggman: Oh, yes. I forgot. So what brings you here?
Rouge tells him of their GUN difficulties.
Eggman: GUN…yes…I’ve had some run-ins with them myself. I tell you what. Since GUN is getting into all of our hair, let’s work together to trace their current leader…
Sonic: And what is in it for you?
Eggman: Getting those idiots out of my way, of course.
They all take a minute to think.
Everyone: Deal!
Eggman: Good! I’ll just go and prepare my Egg Walker…
Rouge: We might as well start trying to track whoever is in charge.
Rouge begins tapping on a keyboard.
Jolteon: Wait! We already know who it is! It’s Andross!
Rouge: D’oh!
Eggman: Then let’s go!
Within two hours, the band is sailing towards Venom in a space shuttle.
Knuckles: Can I fly it?
Sonic: No!
Knuckles: Pweeeeeeeze?
Sonic: NO!
Knuckles: Hmph…
Voltz: There it is…
Everyone looks out at the barren, deserted wasteland of a planet before them.
Jolteon: Everyone put on your thermal suits and oxygen masks. Sonic, put us down just outside of the entrance to Andross’ base.
Sonic: Aye-aye, Captain! Now gimme my ten pounds.
Jolteon: What ten pounds?
Sonic: You said you’d give me ten pounds for saying that!
Jolteon: Oi…
Jolteon pays Sonic, and goes to the back of the spacecraft to prepare to enter Andross’ lair. Sonic smoothly lands the shuttle, and they all step out in front of the entrance to the underground base.
Rouge: This place could use some decorating…
Eggman opens the door with his Volkan Cannon, and they step into Andross’ throne room, which is totally dark.
Cackoo: Uh…hello? Anybuddy here?
Andross’ Voice: What do you want?
Rouge: We want to know you sent GUN to occupy Starwing HQ!
Andross: What? What are you talking about?
Rouge: Don’t play the fool with me! Everyone knows that you are in charge of GUN! You sent them to attack our headquarters seventeen and a half hours ago!
Andross steps into the light.
Andross: True, I am in charge of GUN. However, the little raid on your HQ was not anything I had authorized. GUN had nothing to do with it.
Rouge: You expect us to believe that?
Andross: It’s true! I had them out fighting the Cornerians all day!
Voltz: You’d better cough up some proof, buddy, or we’ll blow this place sky-high!
Andross: That really isn’t necessary. I’ll show you the computer logs…
Andross turns on an audio-visual communication device, and backtracks the previous communiqués. He plays one that shows the time and date of the attack on Starwing HQ, but it shows all of GUN’s forces fighting the Cornerians.
Andross: You see? Proof.
Voltz: Dang! I really wanted to blow this place to the sky!
Andross: ¬_¬
Jolteon: Take a chill pill, V. He’s got proof.
Rouge: …everyone huddle!
They all huddle like a football team.
Rouge: Can you tell if that “proof” is real, anyone?
Shadow: Voltz, can that weird little headband let you probe his thoughts?
Voltz: I’ll see…
Voltz’s brow furrows in concentration, and his headband jewel glows. He looks up a few seconds later.
Sonic: Well?
Voltz: He’s telling the truth, I know that much. He probably knows more, but I can’t probe that deeply and he probably won’t tell.
Knuckles: Reasonable logic.
Tails: What do YOU know about logic?
Knuckles hits Tails and knocks him out.
Everyone: THANK you!
Rouge: I think our work here is done, guys. Let’s go.
They all leave the base, and hop into the shuttle. Sonic flies it away.
----
Jolteon: If they aren’t GUN, then who the heck are they?
Rouge: And how the heck did they acquire GUN battle robots?
Tails: Hang on! I’m almost finished decoding the disk!
Everyone looks at Tails, who has an ice pack on his head from where Knuckles hit him.
Tails: There! I got it!
Voltz: Well? Can you trace where their orders are coming from?
Tails: Yeah! They’re from…this is impossible!
Cackoo: What is?
Tails: Their orders are coming from the Space Colony ARK!
Sonic: Crap! So we have to go in there AGAIN?
Eggman: It’s not really that bad a place…
Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails: ¬_¬
Eggman: Hehehe…
Rouge: Well, looks like we know where to go. Sonic, fly us to ARK!
Sonic: Will do! (I really hate that place…)
----
Two hours later…at the Space Colony ARK in orbit around Earth…
----
The interviewers’ space shuttle approaches the large, manmade space colony. It is hemispherical, with a long spike on the bottom. Sonic meticulously navigates their craft through the rocky meteor field surrounding the colony. He narrowly misses several asteroids, but manages to bring the shuttle up to a docking bay. Tails transmits a computer message to the gate control CPU, and the airlock doors open. Our hedgehog friend lands the shuttle, and the interviewers get out.
Tails: I have bad memories of this place…
Sonic: Tell me about it.
Tails: Okay. Well, remember back when you crashed the ship and—
Sonic: I didn’t mean that literally!
Tails: Oh…I knew that.
Sonic: Riiiiight…
Rouge: Oh, shut up and follow me!
Rouge leads the party out of the docking bay and through a maze of corridors. They stop at a huge elevator shaft.
Jolteon: Eggman, Tails…you guys use the hover jets on your walkers and pick off any hazards in the tunnel. When you’re at the bottom and everything’s clear, fire your Volkan Cannons three times. We’ll be down there ASAP. Got it?
Tails and Eggman: Yeah!
They jump their walkers into the shaft, and begin their slow descent downward. Everyone else waits.
----
Meanwhile…in the ARK’s central control room…
----
A shadowy villain sits in the command chair, watching the interviews on a bank of monitors. A robotic aid runs up to him, and gives its report…
Robot: Their mech walkers have destroyed all the shaft defenses. Should I send an interception squad?
Villain: …
Robot: Sir?
Villain: …Yes. Yes, do that. As a matter of fact, I’ll lead it myself…
Robot: Yes, sir. I shall prepare the troops.
Villain: Make it quick. It won’t take long for them to reach the bottom of the shaft. I want to intercept them when they get there.
Robot: Aye aye!
----
At the bottom of the shaft…
----
Voltz: Whew! That was a hard climb!
Voltz’s acute ears pick up a small, soft, noise.
Jolteon: I agree! I haven’t clim—
Voltz: Shh!
Rouge: What?
Voltz: Did you hear that?
Rouge: Hear what?
Voltz raises his right ear with his paw. This time, everyone can hear the noise.
click click click
Cackoo: There’s someone else here…
Suddenly, a laser bolt comes from back in the corridor. It narrowly misses Grey Wolf’s head, and blows out a chunk of the bulkhead,
Grey: Take cover!
The interviewers duck behind Tails’ Cyclone and Eggman’s Egg Walker. Voltz gets in front and initiates his energy shield, causing his eyes to glow white.
Voltz: All right! Come out now whoever you are!
Fifteen robots show themselves. They level their guns at Voltz, and fire several times. Voltz’s energy shield absorbs the blasts. Suddenly, a male voice from behind the squad pipes up.
Voice: Cease fire!
The owner of the voice steps into the dim light. He is a tall, muscular wolf. His glossy red hair is wild, and the right side of his face is mutilated with scars. His army fatigues are neat and clean, and an evil-looking sword can be seen at his side. His red eyes are just as frightening as Voltz’s.
Strange Wolf: Hello, Voltz…long time no see…
Voltz: Kane! What are you doing here?!
Kane: I would have to ask the same question…why are you intruding?
Voltz: I asked first!
Kane: And I have fifteen armed robots aiming at your comrades.
Voltz: …We’re here because you attacked us!
Kane: I am unaware of such an attack.
Voltz: We traced the attackers here! We’re going to stop you!
Kane: Think again…open fire!
Kane’s robots begin blasting away at the interviewers. Voltz tries to hit Kane with a Thunderbolt, but Kane simply absorbs it. The villain creates his own pyrokinetic Energy shield, causing his eyes to turn solid red and revealing that he has similar abilities to Voltz. Voltz simply growls, and releases a salvo of Thunderbolts at the robots. They are reduced to smoldering heaps of junk. Seeing himself outnumbered, Kane decides to leave.
Kane: TELEPORT!
Their assailant disappears in a bright flash, leaving them alone in the chamber. The raspy breathing of those on adrenaline rush is all that can be heard.
Jolteon: Who…was…that…?
Voltz: Guys, meet Kane…my brother.
Lady Nightshade: Brother?!
Amy: You never told us you had a brother!
Voltz: I’d thought he was dead. But I guess that was too good to be true. You see, Kane is mentally insane. He was kicked out of our house and put in an asylum after he axed his best friend. The records said he committed suicide…looks like they were wrong.
Lady: And all this time you never knew he was alive?
Voltz nods slowly.
Rouge: We don’t have time to discuss family history. Our fellow interviewers are being held captive. We need to find the transmitter here that sends instructions to the robots. Once we knock that out, our comrades in the HQ will be liberated. Tails!
Tails: Yeah?
Rouge: We’ll try and find you a computer access point. From there you can get the schematics of the base and find the transmitter.
Tails: Can do!
Jolteon: Let’s go, then!
They all proceed down the corridor, blowing up surveillance cameras and avoiding guard patrols. They cross several bridges and navigate several gravity switches, and finally come to a computer room. Tails immediately begins downloading blueprints of the colony, while Grey and Cackoo keep watch outside. When the download is complete, Tails tucks the disk into his glove box and prepares to move out.
Tails: Where to from here?
Pete: Yah! Make it someplace with beer, please!
Jolteon: I know! Follow me!
They follow Jolteon to a small storage area. They shut the door and barricade it with a few metal crates.
Pete: Hey! There’s no beer here!
Shadow: So, Tails, where is the transmitter?
Tails: It seems to be in the central control room, next to the Eclipse Cannon controls.
Knuckles: …What did you say?
Tails: I said it was in the control room.
Knuckles: No, after that…
Tails: I said it was next to the Eclipse Cannon controls…Oh no! The Eclipse Cannon!
Voltz: What about it?
Knuckles: Don’t you see? There is an experimental weapon capable of destroying an entire planet in the hands of a madman!
Voltz: Oh…definitely NOT good!
Lady: I guess that adds one more reason for us to decapitate this organization.
Amy: We need to form a plan!
Cackoo: Voltz, can you sense whether or not this room is secure?
Voltz focuses intently, probing out with his thoughts. His headband crystal glows. He mentally senses the room around him, and feels no danger. He looks up at the others.
Voltz: It’s safe. I advise speaking softly, though. There are guard patrols in the adjoining hallway.
Rouge: Okay, guys. This Kane guy obviously means business. We should spy on him, see what his motive is with this station. Who here thinks they are up to the job?
Voltz stands, indicating himself. Grey Wolf also volunteers.
Rouge: Since I know the practice, I’ll go too. Jolteon, can you hold up the fort?
Jolteon: I think so. How will we know it’s you when you come back?
Rouge: We’ll call you on the radio.
Rouge hands her boyfriend a radio. She also hands one to each to Voltz and Grey, and clips another onto her belt.
Voltz: Ready to go?
Grey: When you are.
Rouge: Let’s move. Jolteon, if we don’t radio you in an hour, assume we’re captured or dead and get the rest of the guys off this station. Got it?
Jolteon: Yes. Do I get a goodbye kiss?
Rouge smooches Jolteon.
Jolteon: Thank you…
Rouge, Voltz and Grey creep out of the storage room. They stick to the shadows, avoiding the occasional guard patrol. After awhile, they stop at a three-way fork.
Grey: Great! Now we have to split up!
Voltz: Typical…
Rouge: Alrighty then. I’ll take the right fork; Voltz you take the left and Grey gets the middle.
They reluctantly split up. Voltz creeps along his designated path, stealthily slinking through shadowy areas. Along the way, robot patrols increase. He knows that something important is getting near. At last, he nears a door marked “BREIFING ROOM”. He starts to go in, and then remembers that he’s spying. He spots an air grate, and pries it open. He quickly crawls into it, and pulls the grate back into place after him. He crawls along the shaft, and comes to another grate. He peers through it, and on the other side is a large table. Kane sits at the head of it, and there are several officers and bodyguards seated there with him. This is the briefing room. Voltz tunes in his hearing…he doesn’t get the whole message, but he can still understand the brunt of what they are saying.
Kane’s Voice: Today…use…colony ARK…achieve ultimate power…
Aid #1: How…help us?
Kane: …ARK…manufacture…weapons…mass destruction…
Aid #2: Nukes…no way…help us…conquer…planet…
Kane: …wrong…ARK…more than nukes…has…weapon…can destroy…whole planet…
Aid #2: That…preposterous…
Kane: …wrong again…called…Eclipse Cannon…why half…moon…missing…
Aid #3: …we use…eradicate…life…
Kane: Not all…only…one planet…all it will take…everyone else…know we mean business…
Aid #4: …is…excellent plan…like it!
Kane: …good…need a demonstration…
Aid #1: …why travel…suitable…right here…
Kane: …that…I was thinking…charge…Cannon…blow up Earth…other planets…surrender…us…
Voltz: (Oh no! They’re gonna blow up Earth!)
Voltz backs out of the shaft. He jumps into the hall, and breaks into a dead run. He still sticks to the shadows, but is less silent than before. He picks the radio from his belt.
Voltz: Guys, this is Voltz! I have the information we need!
Rouge: What did you find out?
Jolteon: Are we in trouble?
Grey: What are they doing?
Voltz: Tell you later! Rouge, Grey, rendezvous with me at the fork!
Rouge: Copy that.
Grey: Okay!
Voltz arrives at the fork at the same time as his comrades. They never break their run, but stay in stride.
Rouge: What’s going on Voltz?
Voltz: I’ll explain on the way. Let’s go.
They go double-time for their temporary base camp, as Voltz explains the situation. When they arrive at the storage room, both Rouge and Grey are fully briefed on Voltz’s findings. Rouge radios Jolteon, and he opens the door for them. They rush into the room, and Cackoo and Sonic barricade it.
Rouge: Guys, we have a situation. Kane is going to use the Eclipse Cannon, just like we thought he would. But he’s going to fully charge it and blow up the Earth!
Eggman: It takes a lot of time for that thing to charge, though, so we have time.
Rouge: Yes, but do we have enough? It’s time we formed a plan. Tails!
Tails: Yes?
Rouge: Turn that map you stole into a hologram for us.
Tails: Done!
A 3-D holo image appears in the center of the room. Amazed by this site, Pete runs his hand through it, distorting it. Jolteon grabs his collar and yanks him back.
Rouge: Does anyone have any strategy suggestions?
Grey: I know that there are robots all over Earth now. All citizens are being held prisoner.
Voltz: Why didn’t you say that earlier?
Grey: You wouldn’t shut up.
Voltz: ¬_¬
Jolteon: If we destroy the station, all our problems will be solved.
Rouge: Not really. I discovered that if the ARK explodes in its orbit, then the explosion would wipe out the entire hemisphere currently facing it.
Voltz: I’m not asking why you didn’t tell me that earlier…
Rouge: The only way to do this, then, is to do it in three steps. Firstly, we need to destroy the transmitter. That would free everyone on Earth from the robots. Next, we’d need to destroy the Eclipse Cannon. Knowing villains like Kane, I could guess that he will blow up the station after his plan fails, out of revenge on humanity. The only way this can be done is from the power core, where the Chaos Emeralds will be. We can finish the job there.
Sonic: How do you know the Emeralds will be there?
Eggman: They are the only source of power strong enough to fire the Eclipse Cannon. They have to be there.
Shadow: I suggest we divide into groups and accomplish the first two at once. Then we regroup and meet in the power core room.
Rouge: Good thinking Shadow. We should play to our strengths. Those skilled with computers will go to disable the transmitter, and the demolitionists will take out the Cannon. Any objections or questions?
Jolteon: One question: Where would Pete here go? He can’t work a web browser, nonetheless deactivate a real device. And he couldn’t hurt a fly! All he can do is sing drinking songs…
Pete: Hey!
Rouge: Uh…I don’t know! Just lock him in here.
Pete: Huh…? Why? Can’t I have some fun?
Tails: He can come with me in the transmitter group! We might need him as a bullet shield.
Pete: Okay! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!
Eggman: Shut up!
Pete: …
Rouge: Okay then, groups. For the group in charge of taking out the transmitter: Tails, Eggman, Pete, Cackoo, Jolteon and myself.
Jolteon: Why wouldn’t I be in the other group? I like blowing things up!
Rouge: Two reasons—First, you can program binary code. Second, I want to be in the same group with you…
Jolteon:…..
Rouge: For the Eclipse Cannon group: Voltz, Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Lady Nightshade, Grey, and Knux.
Knuckles: Mph, nmph, mumph!
Rouge: What?
Knuckles: MPH…NMPH…MUMPH!!!
Rouge: Take the tape off your mouth!
Knuckles tears off the duct tape, taking some facial fur with it.
Rouge: Now what were you trying to tell us?
Knuckles: I said don’t call me Knux!
Rouge: Ooooooooookaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy…
Shadow: I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want to get out there and kick Kane’s tail.
Rouge: That’s the spirit! Let’s go!
Everyone gets with their groups, and they dash out of the storage room.
----
Back at the HQ…
----
The interviewers that were left behind are now imprisoned in a holding cell.
Ganon: Who the heck to they think they are, incarcerating us in our own headquarters!
IamErtai: I think we oughta fight our way out of here!
Bowe: Yeah! Let’s show ‘em!
Ganon: Okay, boys…I’ll try and pick the lock...
Ganon focuses his magic power on the lock. It pops open, letting the captured interviewers out.
----
Space Colony ARK—Deck 176
----
Voltz peers around a bulkhead at a large squad of robots. He lifts a radio to his mouth.
Voltz: This is Voltz. Are you in position?
Grey: Yes.
Voltz: The rest of you?
Knuckles: We’re ready. Execute the plan.
Voltz: Okay…Go!
Voltz runs out into the mass of robots, swinging his Charger Rod. Grey does the same with his seven-foot pole. While the robots have their attention focused on them, the other members of Voltz’s squad jump out from their hiding places and ambush them, utterly trashing the squad. They stop only when the entire squad is laying in pieces on the floor.
Shadow: Good work. Let’s proceed, shall we?
The Eclipse Cannon group advances forward, ready to eliminate any resistance.
----
Deck 3
----
Tails blasts a security camera with a laser missile. The rest of the transponder group follows his mech out through the hallways, trying desperately to avoid robot patrols.
Eggman: How much further, Tails?
Tails: We just need to make it up two more decks.
Rouge: Let’s not waste time. Keep moving.
----
Back at the HQ…
----
Ganon swings his greatsword once, and Adam activates his lightsaber with a snap-hiss. They lead the other interviewers out into the courtyard of the HQ, and begin attacking the robots. Ganon takes down five of them with ease, and Adam attacks swiftly and fluidly with his lightsaber. Aya Brea attacks with her pyrokinesis, and Jason McCloud does likewise with his psychic powers. IamErtai and Bowe tear into them with their guns, and Neckron slashes with his sword. Charlie uses his sword as well, and the battle looks one-sided, in the favor of the interviewers. Suddenly, more reinforcements pile in—shielded robots and flying robots. The interviewers are forced to go defensive.
Ganon: Watch out! Here they come!
Adam: I’m on it!
Adam begins deflecting blaster shots with his lightsaber, while IamErtai and Bowe duck behind him and start shooting at the flying robots. The others keep attacking the ground robots.
Bowe: We can’t hold out much longer!
IamErtai: They’re bringing in more reinforcements!
Charlie: Ganon, what do we do?
Ganon: No sense in going back to the prison. We have to keep fighting!
The interviewers continue their struggle, but the odds are against them ten-to-one. They are soon beaten back against the wall, as the robots close in for the kill…
----
Space Colony ARK—Deck 1
----
Tails and Eggman blow open the door the control room. Shrapnel blasts into the command center, killing several men and knocking a few robots out of commission. Taking advantage of this diversion, Rouge, Jolteon, and Cackoo dash in and proceed to kill off enemy guards in the area. Tails and Eggman blast at surveillance cameras and automated defense turrets, filling the room with choking black smoke. Thanks to the element of surprise, the members of the transmitter group immediately eradicate everyone in the center of operations. Tails hops out of his walker and strides through a plume of smoke to the central computer. He begins hacking…
----
Deck 150
----
The Eclipse Cannon group is at the bottommost deck of the station. They have stopped at a door marked “AIRLOCK”.
Sonic: Let’s go! There are grind rails all over the outside of this place and enough oxygen to breathe.
Shadow: Let’s do it. Voltz, are you going with us?
Voltz: I’ll go. The rest of you stay here.
The three men open the airlock and step out into the low-gravity stretch of air around the station’s lower half. They each step onto a grind rail, and proceed to hurdle down the blinking yellow bars on their feet. The ride is very fast, taking them to speeds of over 100 miles per hour. As they fly along toward the bottom of the Eclipse Cannon, Voltz is given the job of blasting the robots stationed along the way. They grind unstoppably down the rails, unaware of what is happening elsewhere in the station…
----
Deck 5
----
Kane and his top aids sit in a secret command room.
Kane: What is our status?
Aid #1: The Eclipse Cannon has only five more minutes to charge before it can be fired.
Kane: Excellent. What about the intruders?
Aid #2: They have split into two groups. One just broke into the control room, and the other is working their way to the Eclipse Cannon.
Kane: What damage have they done?
Aid #3: The group in the control room has just finished off our defenses, and is trying to hack our transmitter. The other group is simply grinding at full speed toward the Cannon. Either way, they will be too late. The Cannon can be fired before they are even close to their goals.
Kane: Good. As soon as the Cannon is charged…fire it.
Aid #1: Aye, sir. Three minutes now.
Kane waits…
----
Space Colony ARK—3 minutes away from the tip of the Eclipse Cannon
----
Ahead of Shadow, Sonic and Voltz, the Eclipse Cannon starts to open.
Sonic: Oh no! We’re too late!
Shadow: Not yet we aren’t! Come on!
They go double-time down the rails, their fur nearly being torn out from the speeds they are reaching. It looks like it may be too late…
----
Back in Kane’s Control Room…
----
Aid #1 looks down at his watch. It counts down.
10…9…8…7…6…
He flexes his finger over the “Fire” button…
----
15 seconds away from the Eclipse Cannon’s tip
----
The Cannon is almost completely open. Voltz, Sonic, and Shadow are bathed in a blue glow.
Shadow: We’ve only got a few more seconds!
Voltz’s eyes glow white, and an Electron Grenade forms in his hand. He Neutron Dashes down the rail, ready to trash the Cannon…
5…4…3…2…1…
Voltz: Game over!
At the last possible second, Voltz throws the Electron Grenade. It goes straight into the Eclipse Cannon just as it is about to fire. The small explosive orb causes a huge detonation, and the Cannon comes apart in space. Voltz watches as he falls toward Earth…he thinks quickly, and Neutron Dashes back to the grind rails next to Shadow and Sonic. They trade high-fives and watch as the debris of the Cannon burns up in the atmosphere.
----
Kane’s Control Center
----
Kane: NO!!! You…you have failed me!
Aid #1: I’m sorry sir, I didn’t—
Kane: You’ll never fail me again!
Kane, in his anger, fires his pyrokinetic version of a Thunderbolt at his aid. The man is left as a smoldering pile of ash.
Kane: The next person to fail me suffers his fate!
----
The Main Control Room
----
Tails smiles as the Cannon explodes.
Tails: I almost got it!
Eggman: Hurry! Guards are approaching!
Tails: There! I did it! The transmitter is neutralized!
----
Starwing HQ
----
As the robots close in on the interviewers, they begin to think that all is lost. The robots start to power up their guns, and then…nothing.
Charlie: What happened?
Ganon: They’re…dead!
Adam: The transmitter that sends instructions to the robots must have been destroyed!
Adam deactivates his lightsaber, and pushes over a robot. Soon, the others are joining in, knocking down the dead robots.
----
Space Colony ARK—Deck 150
----
Voltz, Shadow, and Sonic step through the airlock. They are warmly greeted by their teammates.
Knuckles: Yeah! You did it!
Grey: Way to go!
Lady: Congratulations!
Voltz: Hold the praise. We’re not done yet…
Voltz radios Rouge.
Voltz: Rouge? Mission accomplished. We destroyed the Cannon.
Rouge: Yeah, we saw. Our mission is complete, too. Meet us at the power core room.
Voltz: We’re on it!
Amy: What are we waiting for? Let’s get going.
They run over to an elevator. Knuckles opens it, and finds that the car is stuck. They crawl out of the top of the elevator, and begin climbing up the elevator cable.
Voltz: Interviewer’s luck…
Grey: I know the feeling…
----
Kane’s Control Room
----
Kane watches the interviewers on a monitor as they climb up the cable to the core room.
Kane: Can you hold things up here?
Aid #2: Y-yes sir…
Kane: Good. I’ll go and await Voltz in the core room. I want you to send this colony on a collision course to Earth. With the core as charged as it is, it will totally eliminate the entire planet. I’ll be sure to teleport you out with me when I leave.
Kane teleports himself to a small niche in the wall of the core room.
Kane: And now…we wait…
----
Power Core Room
----
The Eclipse Cannon group finally reaches Deck 130. Lady Nightshade kicks the door release, and the elevator door opens. They clamber out into the power core room from Sonic Adventure Two: Battle. It is a large room, with a ring of deadly orange liquid surrounding a circle of stone ground. Two thin stretches of ground serve as a bridge to the circle, where the power core is. Below the ceiling-mounted core is a near-exact replica of the Master Emerald shrine.
Knuckles: What now?
Shadow: We wait for the others, I guess…
----
Deck 1
----
Rouge leads her team down the corridor to the elevator. When she opens it, she almost falls down the shaft since the elevator is stuck on the bottom deck.
Jolteon: What the…?
Cackoo: Okay, I’ve always wanted to do this…
Cackoo pulls out a safety hook and slides down the cable of the elevator. The rest of them follow suit, save Eggman and Tails, who hover down. They stop at deck 130, and they trigger the door release. The final group steps into the core room to see the others waiting.
Shadow: We’ve been waiting…
Tails’s onboard computer gives a warning beep.
Tails: Uh-oh…
Amy: What do you mean, “uh-oh”?
Tails: The colony is on a collision course with Earth!
Sonic: AGAIN!?!
Knuckles: This is very redundant on SA2…
Rouge: Ugh…
Shadow: How much time do we have?
Tails: 50 minutes.
Voltz: Not much time…
Shadow: We need to disable the engines.
Tails tries to do that from his computer, but another beep is heard.
Tails: The automatic engine shutdown is disabled!
Shadow: Then why not detonate the core?
Tails: Too much energy output, remember? We’d wipe out half the earth.
Voltz: Well, my hedgehog friends, we’ll have to disable them from the outside—manually.
Sonic: But you can’t survive in space! Only Shadow and me have super-forms!
Voltz: They have spacesuits here.
Lady: Sharp eye. I never noticed them…
Voltz: Guys, go change into your super forms. That will also take back the Chaos Emerald energy.
Shadow: Okay.
Shadow and Sonic up the stairs to the top of the mock shrine. They stand side by side, and raise their right hands. They look upward, and see the seven notorious Chaos Emeralds form a ring above them. The ring expands to encompass them both, and they bow their heads and close their eyes. They begin shaking their right fists a bit, and the ring of powerful gems begins to spin around them, faster and faster. The interviewers look on, amazed. The two hedgehogs on the platform stop shaking their fists, and open their eyes. A bright, multicolored light blocks the view of those watching. Sonic and Shadow leap into the air. They turn into their super forms, and land on the ground. The light fades, letting the onlookers see. “Ooh” and “aah” are heard among them.
Everyone watching: Cool!
Just then Kane steps out into the open, standing precariously atop one of the thin land bridges.
Kane: Impressive…So, Voltz. I see you have finally made it here…
Voltz: KANE!
Kane: Is that how you greet family?
Voltz: You’re no family of mine, wretch!
Voltz and Kane begin to circle each other slowly, Kane’s hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed blade. Kane sees Voltz’s allies closing in.
Kane: TELEPORT!
Kane teleports fifty of his most elite human soldiers into the room to fight the interviewers. A fierce battle ensues, as the interviewers try to defend themselves against their foes.
Kane: Let’s finish this!
Kane’s left hand grips the demonic-looking grip of his PyroSaber, and removes it from the sheath. Its blade is pure fire, and it’s dull aura flickers on the ground. He twists the skull-shaped pommel, and the fire energizes. Its glow overwhelms that of the deadly, glowing fluid pooled in the room. Kane swings his sword once.
Kane: My PyroSaber can easily overpower your pathetic Charger Rod!
Voltz: Which is why I am not using it…
Voltz’s eyes glare at Kane, and their dull, yellow color gives him the appearance of an evil beast.
Voltz: From the depths of the Fourth Dimension…I call on…THUNDERBLADE!
Light begins to flash around Voltz’s hand. Molecules appear and slam themselves solidly together, creating Voltz’s own greatsword. The blade is a solidified lightning bolt, glowing dimly. The silver hand guard glints in the light of the blade. Voltz’s left hand firmly grips the black leather covered handle, the silver bands around it giving his hand traction. The silver, spherical pommel glints just like the guard. Voltz twists it, and the blade supercharges. A yellow blaze surrounds it, and it matches the orange glow of Kane’s saber.
Voltz: That’s a pretty big grill lighter you have there, Kane…let’s see how well you handle it!
Voltz lunges forward in an attempt to stab Kane through the chest. Kane parries, and the two are soon trading deadly blows. A loud boom is heard whenever their powerful blades connect, and the force of the strikes shakes the ground beneath their feet. Voltz shoulder rams Kane away, giving them a few seconds to catch their breath.
Kane: Voltz, I have something you might want to know…
Voltz: And what might that be?
Kane: I’m not left handed!
Kane throws his PyroSaber in the air, and catches it in his right hand. He charges Voltz, and begins to overpower him. He is about to deliver a deathblow when Voltz speaks up.
Voltz: I know something you don’t know…
Kane: What?
Voltz: I’m not left handed either!
Voltz punches Kane in the nose, drawing blood and stunning the wolf just long enough for him to switch his sword to his right hand. The battle continues, but this time much fiercer and twice as fast.
----
Meanwhile…just outside the colony
----
A large, pyramid-shaped craft navigates its way through the asteroid field around the ARK. It gets midway through the cloud of planetoids, and then goes adrift. A small shuttle pod detaches itself from the ship, and rockets toward the station. It docks with the huge orbiting mass, and it’s pilot steps into the bay…
----
Back in the core room
----
Kane, seeing that the fight will be difficult, decides to bring in reinforcements.
Kane: TELEPORT!
A feminine figure appears next to Kane. As she materializes, she becomes more distinct. She is a six-foot-tall grey fox, clad in a form-fitting black body glove. She wears silver shoulder pads, and a large, wicked-looking sword hangs on her belt. Her black hair is waist-length and wavy, framing her scowling face. Her left hand rests on her hip, and her right hand fingers the hilt of her sword. It is quite evident what her elemental power is—wind.
Female fox: Well, well, well…look what the cat dragged in! If it isn’t Voltz Megawatt!
Voltz: Gale…long time no see, my sister. I take it you’re with that mongrel?
Kane growls at being called a mongrel, but keeps his cool…for the moment.
Gale: Yes, actually. I’m here to kill you.
Gale draws her own sword, the Cyclone Saber. The huge, titanium blade emits no glow at all—it is normal metal. Voltz starts to feel relief, but it all fades away when she twists the oval pommel of her blade. A small, raging cyclone forms around the steel, giving it as much power as both of her brothers’ swords. Gale and Kane gang up on Voltz, wearing him down. Try as he might, he knows that he can’t fight them both much longer. Just as he begins to feel despair, the elevator doors open. Kane and Gale look back toward them, and Voltz does likewise. The newcomer is a six-foot-tall arctic fox. Her attractive, female body is covered in a light blue body glove, and she also wears shoulder pads and a sword. Her lively, blue hair falls just short of her waist, and her mouth turns upward in a sadistic grin. It is Crystal, Gale’s twin sister with ice powers.
Voltz: Hello, Crystal. Long time no see.
Gale: It was you on that rocket pod that just docked, wasn’t it? Go figure my twin sister had to be here!
Kane: What the hell are we having here, a bloody family reunion? Let’s finish this, once and for all!
Voltz: If you wouldn’t mind helping me out, Crys…
Crystal: Sure thing, little bro!
Crystal draws her ice sword, Cold Steel. The blade is solid ice, but it is harder than steel and as sharp as a razor. She twists her cylindrical pommel, and the blade begins to radiate with ice energy. She begins to fight fiercely with Gale, while Voltz faces off with Kane. With the help of Crystal, Voltz is able to beat back his other two siblings. Within minutes, Gale and Kane are both on the ground, a sword point to each of their necks. Voltz spares a glance at the interviewers, who have eliminated the soldiers. They are tending their wounded.
Voltz: You are beaten. Get up, both of you!
Gale and Kane get to their feet and sheath their swords.
Voltz: Now stop this station! Immediately!
Kane: I’m afraid I can’t do that…
Voltz: Can’t, or won’t?
Kane: Both. Gale…Let’s get out of here! TELEPORT!
Seizing the moment, Kane and Gale teleport away, forgetting what Kane told the aide. As Kane fades away, his voice echoes.
Kane’s Voice: We’ll meet again! Hahahahahahahahahaha…!
Voltz: Dang! …they got away…
Crystal: We’ll get them next time.
Voltz: You’re right. We will.
Voltz returns the Thunderblade to the Fourth Dimension.
The station rocks violently, nearly throwing Voltz into the pool of liquid.
Crystal: Wha…?
Voltz: Ack! I forgot about the station!
Crystal: Huh?
Voltz: The station is going full thrust toward Earth! Tails!
Tails: What?
Voltz: How much time left?
Tails: Twenty minutes! You’d better hurry!
Voltz: No bull! Come on, Shadow and Sonic! Crystal, you can come too if you’d like.
Crystal: I’m there. What do we have to do?
Voltz: I’ll explain on the way out.
----
The upper airlock
----
Voltz has explained to Crystal what they must do. They are now pulling on spacesuits. Tails runs up behind them in his walker, his hand holding twelve disks. He gives three of them to each person.
Tails: Each engine has it’s own CPU. You just have to open it up; put one of these disks into the drive labeled “B”, and hit download. That engine will be out of commission in about one minute after downloading starts. Do that to all twelve engines and then they will reverse.
Sonic: What’s on the disks?
Tails: Windows XP. Drive B handles forward propulsion, A handles reverse. Putting this in Drive B will shut that part of the engine down and then the other will automatically kick in. But, they must all be shut down to go to reverse.
Voltz: Okay, let’s go.
Tails hurries away as Voltz and Crystal strap on their helmets. Sonic opens the airlock, and they are sucked out into the vacuum.
----
Outside the colony…
----
Sonic and Shadow use their speed abilities to go to the other side of the station. Crystal and Voltz use their jetpacks to boost over to the closest side. Voltz drifts over to one of the twelve monstrous engines. He maneuvers down to the bottom of it, and finds the panel. He magnetically hooks himself to the engine so he won’t float away, and pries off the covering. The panel drifts away. Voltz searches among the blinking lights of the CPU, finds Drive B, and inserts one of the disks. He pulls down a keyboard and hits the download button. He unhooks himself and starts toward the next engine. On the way he checks his countdown chronometer. It reads 11 minutes and 5 seconds. Very little time. He continues on his way.
----
Meanwhile, on the other side of the station…
----
Sonic and Shadow are both finished with their parts. Low on ring energy, they are forced to return to the core room. Shadow sends Crystal and Voltz a radio call.
Shadow: Guys, we had to return. We got too low on energy. We got our parts done, but it’s up to you all now.
Crystal: Okay. I’m just hitting download on my last engine. Voltz? What’s your status?
Voltz: I just locked myself to the last engine. I’m going to pop the covering now…
Crystal: Hurry Voltz! We’re down to two minutes!
Voltz: Crap!
Sonic: What?
Voltz: It’s stuck! I can’t pry it off!
Crystal: Oh no!
Shadow: Voltz! Try using your headband!
Voltz: What? How will that help?
Shadow: See if you have telekinesis as well!
Voltz: Good idea. I’ll try.
Voltz focuses intently, and shuts his eyes. Slowly, the plating pops off.
Sonic: Thirteen seconds to go before the download will be too slow!
Voltz, enhancing his speed with electricity, quickly puts in the disc and presses the download button. He and Crystal, who is also still outside, pull away and wait one minute. The station enters Earth’s atmosphere. Voltz counts down the seconds to Earth’s impending doom.
Voltz: 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…we’ve failed…
At the last possible second, XP kicks in. The last drive fails, and she goes to reverse.
Crystal: It’s got the escape velocity!
The station leaves the atmosphere and returns to orbit, saving Earth.
Voltz: Hoo-ha! We did it! We reversed it!
Crystal: Good work, little bro!
They return to the station. Everyone cheers for them. They return to their shuttle and head for Earth.
Crystal: Wait. Pull into the meteoroid field. I need to get my ship.
Crystal boards the pyramid-shaped Undertaker, and the two craft blast to the surface.
----
Back at the HQ…
----
Ganon and the other liberated interviewers look up and see the Undertaker and the shuttle land. The others get out, and are greeted with open arms. Everyone goes inside and sits in the lounge. Voltz fills them in on the entire story. After he’s finally done, Ganon tells of their fight.
Ganon: …you guys had knocked out their control signal, and then we finished ‘em off. So, Voltz, you say you had a sword?
Voltz: Interesting story, and yes I have a sword.
Ganon: May I see it?
Voltz: Sure…
Voltz calls out his Thundersword, and shows it to Ganon.
Ganon: Sweet! Why have you been using that wimpy rod when you had this?
Voltz: The Thundersword is too powerful. I could’ve easily killed you in the Civil War. But I suspected you weren’t in the wrong, so I used my Rod.
After more chitchat, they all go their separate ways. Voltz and Crystal head out to the front stoop.
Voltz: I take it Kane is the one you wanted to hunt down after the Civil War, right?
Crystal: Yes. That’s right.
Voltz: So, where are you off to now?
Crystal: Actually, I figured I’d stay here. Besides, you could use an interview assistant, couldn’t you, little bro?
Voltz: Yes! But…why are you willing to risk your life, sanity, and decency and risk being repeatedly asked to go out with people like Falco and Brock?
Crystal: You never know when Kane and Gale may show up again. With all the…what are they called? Plot holes? With all those in you interviews, them turning up seems likely. I want to be there when that happens.
Voltz: You’re hired, sis. C’mon in, I’ll get Jolteon to have another floor added on.
Crystal: Another floor? Why?
Voltz: Every interviewer has their own penthouse suite.
Crystal: Wow! With a vanity table?
Voltz: If you wish.
Crystal: Cable TV?
Voltz: Ditto.
Crystal: And climate control?
Voltz: Yup.
Crystal: All right!
With his new assistant, Voltz strides back into the HQ.
----
Author: Now for the epilogue!
Slippy: Hey, wait! Hold the phone! This isn’t right!
Author: What isn’t?
Slippy: This can’t be a piece of interview/off da wall literature! Where are the plot holes? Where’s Bill Gates? Where’s Caiman? Where’s the blood and gore?
Author: Aah! NOOOOOO!
A plot hole opens, dumping out Bill Gates.
Gates: Den A nacc fik Windows XP ed ucc oeih semfikehj!
Author: What!?
Slippy: He speaks Dino now. He said: “Now I will put Windows XP on all your computers!”
Gates does so, and another plot hole opens, sucking up Gates and spitting out Caiman.
Caiman: My name is…
Author: AAAAH! CAIMAN!
Caiman: You interrupted me! What an outrage! DIE!
He nukes the Author’s room.
Epilogue
Well, there you have it Slip. Plot holes, Bill Gates, Caiman, and your blood and gore. Good going. Anyway, what happened to the characters? Read on and see.
Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Sonic returned to their Sonic universe, with Tails and Knuckles still arguing, Shadow striking cool poses and Sonic trying to put up with them.
Eggman went back to his temple base to plot some loony evil plots.
Voltz is now experimenting with his mental power.
Jolteon had another penthouse put on for Crystal.
Crystal is now fiddling with her vanity table, cable TV, and climate control.
Lady Nightshade went back to writing her INSANELY long interview (longer than this, believe it or not).
Amy and Pete are in the middle of a drinking game.
Kane is in some other land.
Gale is in some other land.
Kane’s aids are in prison.
Rouge went to Tiffany’s jewelry store to look at all the diamonds.
Grey Wolf is still sending Voltz emails meant for Jason. :-p inside joke
Cackoo is being…Cackoo.
Andross stubbed his toe in the dark while trying to achieve “dramatic effect”.
Slippy got nuked, smearing frog guts everywhere.
Unfortunately, a robo-Slippy took his place.
Bill Gates was dropped out of the plot hole into Tellytubbie land and committed suicide.
Adam is making things float with his force powers.
Ganon is ransacking his room trying to find his sword, but nobody is brave enough to tell him it’s right on his belt.
Aya is still eating her ENOURMOUS welcome back cake (by the way, welcome back!)
Jason is training his Mew and Mewtwo.
IamErtai is arguing off and on (mostly on) with his assistants, Bowe and Firiel.
Bowe is off “driving” with Roy.
Neckron is trying to make Jason believe that they are brothers, since they are both brothers to Fox.
Charlie is trying to show his sword skills to Chris, who keeps falling asleep.
Caiman is off trying to tell SOMEBODY exactly what the heck he is.
And me, the Author? Well, I’m in intensive care. But I still got a computer, so I can write my next interview!
Oooooh, boy. Get ready for a LONG list of copyrights. Dang…
Voltz Megawatt, Crystal, Kane, and Gale are © to me.
Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Eggman, ARK, and Chaos Control are © to Sonic Team
Andross, Slippy, Caiman, and Ganon are © to Nintendo.
Ganon’s personality is © Ganon
Lady Nightshade is © to Lady Nightshade.
Jolteon and Amy Clearwaters are © to Jolteon
Pete, Grey Wolf, Cackoo, Bowe, IamErtai, Charlie, Aya Brea, Jason McCloud, Adam, and Bill Gates are © to themselves
Windows XP is © to Microsoft
Space shuttles are © to NASA.
-AUTHOR’S NOTE-
Whoo! I’ve been a busy little beaver, eh? Did you enjoy reading this? Let me know if you did, didn’t, or you can tell me anything else relating to my work. I can be reached at . Please don’t send me spam. I’m nearing the midpoint of my free storage…;-). Also, spam is a felony in my state…Anyhoo, thank you for reading this. Also, anything I said was © to me is not to be used in any way without my written permission.
Yours insanely,
~Voltz M.
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