The MotherShip makes its way back to New Yoke through the gateway, with Ryder, Sonic, Rory, and Dread clinging on to the edge of the aircraft.
Dread struggles to keep his grip on the ship. "This be more... than I bargained for!"
Rory shrugs. "Sorry bro. Should've stayed in WaterWorld."
Dread falls off and screams while Ryder and Sonic notice.
"Dread? Dreaaaad!" Sonic was concerned for his friend.
"I'll save him!" Ryder leaps off and activates Air Shoe mode. He approaches Dread's level while falling. He grabs him by the arms and flies him to a close rooftop safely. He tries to ascend back to Sonic, but his Air Shoes run out of power and he ends up stopping. "Dang it." He then starts screaming and falls until he reaches the trash skip. "Augh. You better be worth it Dread." He jumps out and sees Sonic next to him. "Wait, why are you here?"
Sonic looks down embarrassed. "I, uh... slipped and fell off."
Ryder looks to the audience before facepalming. "Let's just go."
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Residents are running away from an onslaught of Eggforcers terrorizing the place. Knucks fends off a few of them with his fists. "Rescue op, street side, now!"
They see two kids being cornered by two Eggforcers. Rebel swoops down and kicks the robots away with her feet. She takes the kids up to safety. Meanwhile, Ryder and Sonic start searching around the place, looking for Dread. Well, Sonic looks. Ryder watches.
"Dread? Dread? Dread? Where are you?" Behind them, they hear and see smashed robot parts flung up in the air, followed by Rebel carrying the two kids.
"Thankfully, Dread will have to wait! The rebels need our help!" Ryder pointed ahead.
Rouge takes out another robot then lands the kids to a safe place. She returns to Knucks.
"It's madness out here." Knucks fearfully mentions.
"It's hopeless." Rebel looked saddened by the current peril.
They are approached by three more Eggforcers, but are instantly wiped out by two Spin Attacks. Ryder and Sonic stand on top of the rail in triumph.
"Missed us?" Ryder rhetorically asked, and the rebels became annoyed. Ryder shrugged.
"Sonic? Ryder?"
"I shoulda known when everything went bad, that you'd show up." Knucks said.
"Hey, we're here to help!" Sonic defended with a grin.
"Except you always seem to make things worse."
An Eggforcer slams into Sonic, but he dodges. Ryder prepares a Spin Dash on top of the downed Eggforcer to break it.
The Eggforcers continue to terrorize the place, with kids whimpering and screaming and running in panic while Ryder and Sonic continue to eliminate the robots with Spin Attacks.
"Come on, don't let those two get in all the good licks!" Knucks and Rebel take down more robots. They work together on another Eggforcer, only for it to be finished off by Sonic, who then steps in and meets the gang.
"Great job team. Good hustle. Now if you don't mind, me and Sonic gotta jam." Ryder tries to leave, but is suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and turned to by Knucks.
"Answers! Where did you come from?!" Knucks aggressively demands.
"Well... you see..." He then explains the fight of Ghost Hill, trying to get the Green Shard in Boscage Maze, and fighting Dread's crew in No Place.
"Pirates? I hate pirates."
"You know, it's kinda ironic coming from you Knucks." Ryder is then grabbed in the arm by Rebel.
"You let the Council get their hands on more shards?!"
"My god. No. You're acting like I handed them the shards. Why is it that when people fail to do something people say they "let it happen"? I didn't. Just say I failed." Ryder rolls his eyes.
"Okay, guys, don't worry, I've got a plan. We're on my way to fix it right now." Sonic assures Rebel.
"We've heard that before!"
"We're gonna bust into the Yoke, grab the Shards and rescue Nine."
"The fox with the attitude? The one who stole the Shard?"
Ryder gives Rebel a deadpan look."We were all gonna steal the Shard. Don't blame him for winning." Rebel gives him a dirty look.
"I know he's a little rough around the edges..." Sonic stammers.
"It's not just the edges."
"...but he saved you!"
"And then he disappeared again." Knucks adds.
"Because he was captured! We can trust him." Ryder points out.
"Him? We don't even trust you!" He points his glove to his face. Ryder puts his arm down.
"Fine. We don't need you guys slowing us down anyway."
Rebel suddenly covers his mouth. "Quiet!" They look up, where a series of propeller-topped robots float down from the sky and approach the gang, who prepare themselves for combat. One robot chases a kid along a road. "Those machines, they've never been so fast. Or this aggressive." One robot grabs a kid with its fingers. Knucks takes off.
"Which is exactly why we need to get into the Yoke like yesterday. The Shards are what matters." Sonic reminds them.
"Go on, then. Don't let us slow you down." Knucks mocks Ryder as he and Rebel take care of more Eggforcers, while Sonic and Ryder wait at the top of the building.
"It's fine. They can handle it.Focus on the Shards, focus on the Shards..." He suddenly starts running down a building. "Uh, why am I running into battle?"
Ryder runs beside him. "Because the plot calls for it, Sonic!"
"What does that even mean?!"
"What does liberal arts mean?" Ryder changes the subject as they jump and Sonic clings onto a Propeller bot trapping a kid while Ryder attacks the ones close to him. He breaks free of the robot's hold, sending a kid screaming and falling down, landing into the arms of . Froggy, on top of the cat, croaks. Rebel defeats another Propeller-bot. Three more Propeller bots chase Knucks, who hides behind a building segment. He pounds the ground to scoop it up in the air and punches it towards another Propeller Bot. Rebel returns to him, but suddenly, a horde of Eggforcers confront them, only to be finished off by Ryder's Spin Attack. They run across a road but are stopped and surrounded by more Eggforcers, which are once again knocked out by Sonic with his Homing Attack, including one more from airborne. The duo returns to the gang, who are astonished.
"Well, we've helped you, and now we're even. Now if you excuse us, we have a world to save." Ryder prepares to take off, but Rebel stops him.
"We're going with you."
"What?" Ryder starts to get annoyed.
"We're all heading to the Yoke."
Knucks shakes his head in disagreement. "Why would we go to the Yoke? The streets are crawling with Eggbots again!"
"Now that the Council is back and more powerful than ever, we have to take the fight to them."
"No one likes a good dust-up more than me, you know that, Rebel, but these grunts are green. We need to get underground."
"Love that you're talking this out, but we should've been there already. we can't wait around..." Sonic begins, but Rebel angrily steps in front of him.
"You're gonna have to! This is bigger than you, Sonic. If you fail, and the Chaos Council keeps the Shards, we're finished. And I'm not letting that happen. I know this isn't what we do. We stick to the shadows, we fight from the shadows, but this time, there's just too much at stake. We have to bring the fight right to them."
"Maybe there's a way we can do both." Knucks offers.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Yoke
The Chaos Council prepare to begin their next insidious plot.
"We should make it bigger!" Dr. Done-it argues.
"Big surprise that Dr. Slouch wants it taller." Mr. Dr. Eggman insults.
"Give it Buzzsaws! Carve them up!" Dr. Babbel offers.
Nine clears his throat and appears with some Eggforcers and Rex.
"You rang for me?" Nine mentions.
"How long are we putting up with him?" Dr. Done-it asks.
"He's built us what we want, get rid of him already." Dr. Deep said.
"Now, now. We're going to put him to work, but this one possesses a, shall we say, less-dull mind than the usual riff-raff? He'll appreciate this." Mr. Dr. Eggman smirks.
Nine looks at him confused. "Appreciate what?"
"What we've built, of course."
He and Dr. Babble display the Shard generator. Nine is astonished. Rex tries to hide it, but even he is shocked.
"You're harnessing the energy of all three Shards? That much power is..."
"Incalculable? Indeed." Dr. Deep said.
"No, it isn't! Just make! Them! Bigger!" Dr. Done-it demands.
"What do you mean doctor?" Rex asks.
"Yeah. What are you guys doing?"
"The rat is confused. Perhaps a demonstration is in order. Dr. Don't? If you wouldn't mind." Mr. Dr. Eggman asks.
"Whatevs." Dr. Don't presses a button. The generator unleashed an electrical dome which homes in on a broken Eggforcer. It shines a bright light. After a moment, it is rejuvenated into a large . Tails looks at it in surprise.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Railway Station
A tram rides along the tracks. The gang walked down the steps quietly. They stop, but Sonic bumps into Knucks, prompting him to growl angrily back at him. Sonic notices they've been standing for a while, and becomes annoyed.
"Oh, can we please speed this up?" Sonic asks with impatience.
"We're moving as fast as we can." Rebel, annoyed, tells Sonic.
He groans.
"Not everyone has super speed." Ryder reminds him.
Soon the rest of the team continued onward, followed by Denizen 1998 and two denizen soldiers. On the other side of the Railway are a series of Propeller-bots roaming the area. The gang ran and hid in another spot. They peep through the wall.
"What's the plan, Rebel?" Knucks said.
"Yeah, we are kinda under a time crunch here, so..." Sonic reminds them.
"We need to get into the tunnels on the other side of the station. Using them, we'll be able to get in close to the Yoke HQ with less attention than on the streets." Rebel informs.
"So we just gotta get past these chumps first? No sweat." Knucks scoffs.
They hide back in and run past a tube, but the propeller bots are right in front of them as they exit. They combat the robots. Sonic Spin dashes up the barricade of a stairway and jumps to defeat a Propeller-Bot, followed by a Homing Attack - before Rebel kicks away another bot. One of the soldiers is grabbed by a Propeller Bot and is dragged into the rail's path. A horn honks, causing him to scream, but Knucks saves him as the tram passes through, knocking out the bot. Ryder jumps from one bot to another and kicks each of them. Sonic slides under another Propeller Bot to dodge its grab. Denizen 1998 grabs the Propeller Bot's arms, allowing the soldier to shoot its propellers. Another Propeller-Bot is destroyed by a tram.
"Way to put the"team " in"teamwork," everybody! Oh, looks like you can handle yourselves, so maybe We'll just take off." Sonic sets off, but a door rumbles and opens, unveiling some larger Eggforcers, causing the gang to stand back.
"Those things are huge." Knucks said.
"Okay, seriously, what's with all the upgrades?"
The bigger robot confronts the team. It prepares to jump on top of them, forcing them to clear out onto the rail tracks.
"Whoa." Sonic yelped.
"Knucks, we'll handle this one. Can you two clear the exit?" Sonic salutes and Ryder nods and gets to work; She points. "Let's move."
Knucks and Rebel take on the large Eggforcer. Knucks taps its leg, distracting it, while Rouge flies around it and delivers a punch. Meanwhile, Denizen 1998 is caught by two Propeller Bots, but Sonic defeats them, leaving Big to fall to the ground. Sonic gives him a thumbs up, but another horn honks in the distance as two more soldiers confront the Giant Eggforcer in the middle of the tracks. Sonic and Ryder alerts and rescues the soldiers off the tracks as the tram zooms by, but is blocked by the heavy Eggforcer.
Ryder sees his chance and jumps to the Eggforcer, breaking off a part and then tosses it to Denizen 1998, who blasts and knocking down two Eggforcers.
Let's go!" Rebel orders and the gang run into the track's tunnel.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Yoke
"Sweet corn! They destroyed my babies! My big, beautiful babies!" Dr. Done-it weeps.
"So much for "just make them bigger." Next time, try laser eyes." Dr. Deep suggests. Rex rolls his eyes. Laser eyes have been run to the ground by Superman at this point. Who wants it? Nine notices it but says nothing.
"Buzzsaws!" Babbel continues to suggest.
"Flamethrowers are tight." Don't recommends.
"Buzzsaws!"
"Flamethrowers!"
"Enough!" Eggman stands up in frustration and walks away.
"So..., which one are we doing?"
"I don't --care!" He grabs Nine, drags him away, and gestures to Rex to follow. "Do whatever you want."
As legions of Eggforcers roam together, Ryder watches on from the tunnel's opening. The rest of the gang join him.
Rebel gasps. "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea. They've never had this many Eggforcers, and they've never been this tough.
"What do we got left to lose?"
"Nothing, but I would still want to proceed with caution. At this point, people who still use guns in this place clearly don't have a chance." He points at the forces behind him who look at their guns nervously.
"Look, this is all getting pretty intense and it's a lot more than you signed up for. So, I don't blame any of you if you don't want to go any further. But I have to go. I have a fox friend to rescue and a world to save, a few worlds, actually. I should have been doing this alone anyway." Sonic said.
"No. The Chaos Council are not going to stop at bigger robots, and you're our best shot at any sort of victory. We're with you, Sonic." Rebel tells him.
Ryder grins at the show of bravery.
"Just tell me who to punch." Knucks tells him.
Sonic nods and takes off, with Knucks and Rebel landing on and breaking some robots. Denizen 1998 picks up a robot and throws it onto another, but dodges a ground pound from another Eggforcer. He ducks to dodge an arm attack, until Rouge grabs hold of the robot and tosses it with her might into the flying fist of Knucks. Meanwhile, Sonic approaches two more Eggforcers shooting back at him. He jumps and clings onto one robot's mouth. As the robot scans him, he taunts by moving his eyebrows. Sonic then looks over and evade an arm attack from another robot. In Slow-motion, a mid-air Ryder Homing Attacks the other Eggforcer, and jumps around various parts of the landscape to dodge more lasers. One laser attack cuts off one of the rails, leaving a honking tram to de-rail and ram into a group of Eggforcers. While more robots shoot at Ryder, one of them is hit on the head by a robot part. From above, Denizen 1998 body presses down on the Eggforcers. Soon, they hear Denizens yelling in the distance. The two Denizen soldiers hide behind Robot parts while being shot at.. Knucks, dodging more lasers, hides and prepares to shoot, while Rebel takes out another Eggforcer. The shutters open, revealing two more bigger armored Eggforcers. The gang confronts them.
Knucks fires a weapon at it. "Forget it, Knucks! They're too well armored!" Rebel tells him.
"We'll see about that!" He charges at the two armored Eggforcers and punches one of them on the head. The head pops back out and the Eggforcer starts firing lasers from its eyes back at him. "Huh?"
Just in time, Ryder manages to grab, and save Knucks from the attack and takes him to safety.
"Seriously? Laser eyes? Superman ran that to the ground!"
The robot slams as it lands behind them, holding a flamethrower. It flames at them. Ryder retreats around the landscape and causes the robot to give chase.
"Okay, I admit it! Flamethrowers are a good touch."
The Yoke
Back at the Yoke, we see Eggman, Rex and Nine, the former looking away. "We both know that the other members of the Council won't stop Sonic and Ryder. They lack vision and imagination, unlike you." He turns back
"You think I have vision and imagination?" Nine asks.
"Perhaps. Or perhaps you're just a stupid fox. Alone. Useless. Pathetic."
Rex admittedly feels bad for the fox. He can't understand why, but ever since his talk with Nine, and leaving Rusty behind, he's felt a huge wave of emotions flooding to him.
"I'm pathetic?" Nine brings Rex's focus back. "You're the one with unlimited power, and all you can think to do is build a bigger robot."
Eggman cackles, then threatens him back with a large stun gun. "Tell me how to defeat the Hedgehogs!"
"You can't, they're too fast. They think on his feet. No matter what you throw at 'em, they take it. No matter how hard you hit them, he always gets back up! And if Rex is anything like Rex was, he's smart enough to evade your tricks. You'll never beat them, because you can't understand them. You don't think like they think. You're not even in the same league."
"So I need to think like them? I knew you had vision and imagination. Rex! Come with me. I have just the thing for you."
"Hey, wait! I didn't..." Nine realized his mistake and tried to stop him.
"Yes, yes you did." He guides Rex to the door, and Rex looks back with guilt.
Oh, what have I done? I have to talk to Rory and Ryder. Nine to Rory and Ryder. Are you there, Ryder?"
Dr. Don't and two robots confront him. "Warning your friends? Not cool."
'Where's Rory when you need him.'
New Yoke City
Ryder, with his Blue boot. Super-Peel-Outs and does a U-turn, as the robots walk closer to him.
"Let's go, Robot Torches!"
The two armored Eggforcers scan him and fire a laser, which he dodges with a back-flip. He peels out and lures them to destroy more Eggforcers. He spins in between then, jumps up in the air and in slow-motion, does a little wink, and the robots blow up themselves before landing back down.
The Yoke
Three members of the Chaos Council are furious with the outcome.
"Dagnabbit!" Done-it yells.
"No! No!" Deep is furious as well.
Eggman and Rex appear past the automatic doors. "Gentlemen! Why the long faces? Could it be that your plans amounted to nothing, again?"
"Well, if it isn't the cat that ate the canary. Where have you been?" Done-it asks.
"Answers aren't hard to find, if you know the right neck to twist."
Don't then appears, holding Nine. "Turns out our many-tailed prisoner has been in communication with the hedgehogs this whole time." He lifts up his Regulator.
"I knew it! That rat's a rat!" Done-it said.
"I... am... a fox! Ryder was right, you're an idiot when it comes to animals!" Nine said, angering them.
"I'm gonna turn you into a bathrobe!" Deep threats as Babble babbles furiously.
"Ah, let's not be hasty. The fox can lure the Hedgehogs right to us."
"How is that going to help? He keeps beating our Eggforcers!" Done-it said.
"Exactly. That's why I have... something... better in mind. And our friend here is going to help me do it." Eggman gestures to Rex and walks over to his demonstration in the generator room. The rest of the Council follow. "My interrogation of our prisoner has inspired a design for our greatest robotic creation. Watch and learn." He presses a key. The shard generator starts pumping up with energy. Nine looks on, worried.
Rex turns to Eggman and speaks his mind. "If you want me to best Ryder, then I'm going to need something... powerful."
New Yoke City
Meanwhile, the gang finish off a battle and meet together. "Nice job. Told you he'd make it." Rebel jokes.
"D-did you think I wouldn't make it? Nevermind, me and Sonic can handle the rest from here."
"No chance. We've come this far. We finish this together."
"Easy to say. But we still gotta get inside. This place is locked down." Knucks said.
More Eggforcers arrive from the doors and attack the gang. "Take cover!"
The group hides while weapons are being shot at them. "More Eggforcers? I hate to say it, but..."
"We're not retreating! We make our stand, here and now!"
"We can't hold them off for long. We need to get inside, now!"
"Ryder!" Nine's voice appears on Ryder's regulator.
"Nine? Where have you been?"
"Bring your friends to the southwest doors." "Nine" says oddly... almost as if it was fabricated.
"Uhh, you okay there Nine?" He asks, suspicious.
"I'll get you in." Nine ignores the question, and Sonic doesn't question the good fortune.
"Our inside fox is gonna get us in. Come on!"
""Bring your friends"? Why would he say that?"
"Because he's a nice guy. I told you, we can trust him!"
"Uhh, as much as I would love to trust Nine, really, I would, but we can't just ignore the fact that this kind of feels like a trap.
"Not like we have another option."
"Of course we don't." Ryder sighs as they make a run for it.
"Rebels! Fall back!"
They soon arrive at the top of a building.
"Yes! I knew Nine wouldn't let me down. Come on!" Sonic said, optimistically.
Then run and step outside the southwest doors. The doors open. They walk slowly inside.
"Yeah, this isn't ominous at all. I don't like this." Knucks said, nervously.
"You don't like anything. Anyone got a light?" Rebel remarked.
"I might." Ryder checks his satchel but finds nothing, but then the next set of doors open with a mysterious orange glow.
"Nine?" Ryder looks at Two figure walks towards them.
"Nine? Rory? Is that you?" Sonic asks.
The robotic figures stop their approach to the gang, causing them to take a step back. Knucks puts his weapon down.
"No, it's... you."
Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoy it. Also I wanted you to know I'm making real headway for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Blaze. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope you do to. Don't forget to follow, vote, and comment below on who your favorite version of Ryder is. And sorry there wasn't much of Rory this time. I promise that the next time you see Rory, it will be very satisfying. Welp, see you soon.
Drift Out!