Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 72 - Onward to Eggman

It was almost over.

A year of endless suffering, a year of having almost no hope, a year of near death experiences...it was all about to come to an end. All that was now required in order for victory to be achieved is to hand Eggman yet another defeat, and trust in a single Chaos Emerald to get the job done. Everyone was exhausted, hardly even having the strength to lift but a single finger. But despite that, they kept their heads up high and prepared themselves for any sort of possible event and the outcomes that could potentially follow.

Just one final effort was asked of them. After that, peace could finally be achieved once more.

As the group whose objective was to hunt down Eggman departed, Sonic couldn't help himself from glaring at the battle that continued to rage on. His eyes were glued to Amy, as he watched her struggle with the incalculable number of androids surrounding her. He hesitated on abandoning his squad in an attempt to resuce her, the hesitation quickly dying the second he witnessed Amy fall to the ground.

He instantly ran to her aid, screaming Amy's name as he made his departure. However, his quick pace was halted upon watching his loved one quickly pick herself back up and swiftly eliminate her attackers. Fear immediately transitioned into admiration, he had now felt so much more confident in his friends skills. Now that he was convinced that Amy truly was strong enough to handle things without him, Sonic started walking back to his squad, still keeping a close eye on Amy as he did.

Tails flew over to Sonic, placing his hand on the blue ones shoulder in an assuring manner. "Don't worry, man, Amy's a tough girl. She can definitely take care of herself."

"Yeah...looks like this war has really toughened her up." Sonic was inclined to agree.

"Perhaps it wasn't the war that did that..." Tails smirked.

Sonic felt choked up over Tails' implications. After Amy defeated a few more androids, she took a moment to turn her attention towards Sonic. Even though the two were quite a ways away, they were still able to share a heartfelt connection. They exchanged a thumbs up before continuing on with their objectives.

"I love you." Sonic mouthed with a small tear streaming from one of his eyes.

Before Tails could notice it, Sonic sniffled and quickly wiped it away and continued onward to Eggman, wherever the man may be.

"So uh, how's this gonna work?" Big inquired, closely studying the Emerald in Sonics hand.

"It's like I've already mentioned..." Tails began to explain. "...the Emerald will work sort of like a compass. The closer we come into contact with the Master Emerald, the brighter and faster this Emerald will glow. One significant purpose of the Master Emerald is to interact with the Chaos Emeralds so naturally, we'll use them to find it. Well...not them...but you get what I mean."

"Even then...we'll have to scour the entire globe just to get a remotely good signal." Silver whined.

"Oh, don't get yourself all worked up, it won't be that bad." Tails chuckled. "Besides, I already got a few leads on where Eggman might be hiding."

"Where at?" Sonic wondered.

"One location I originally hadn't thought of checking ...Sandopolis Desert."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Let's just try to always remember that Eggman will obviously have some sort of gizmo waiting for us. So we gotta be ready for anything. Which goes for all of us here, including you three." Tails pointed to Vanilla, Big and Cream.

"We've fought off wave after wave of androids for nearly an entire day, I think we could handle whatever Eggman threatens us with." said Blaze.

"Well...still...let's just try and stay alert."

"Might I recommend something that could help us find the Doctor?" Cream proposed an idea.

"Uh...sure, go right ahead." Sonic nodded.

"Me, Mr. Tails and Mr. Silver can all fly, and I think we'll have a much easier time surveying the area if we fly our way around the planet."

"That's true." Tails said while pondering on Creams proposal. "And eliminating any sort of aerial resistance shouldn't be much of an issue either. If we're higher up, we'll have a much broader view of the planet. Not only that, but the Emeralds receptors will be able to pick up a stronger signal. Shit, let's do it!"

"I'm carrying Blaze!" Silver intruded.

"Uh...okay?" Tails was a bit confused over Silvers rapid comment, but he didn't think anything of it as he was unaware of his crush on Blaze. "Sonic, I hope you don't mind--"

"Not at all! It'll be just like old times!"

"Heh, yeah. Anyway, what about the rest of us?"

"I could carry my mother." Cream suggested.

"I got Sonic, Creams got Vanilla, and Silvers got Blaze. That leaves...you, Big."

"Aw man, no one wants to carry me." Big whined as his ears flopped down in despair.

Fortunately, Cheese and Chocola obliged to give Big the assistance he was hoping for. The two Chao's grasped Big by his arms, and with their surprising amount of strength, they were able to hoist Big into the air. And with that, the rest of the squad were on their way to find Eggman. Their first point of interest was Sandopolis Desert, as well as its neighbouring towns and villages. Hopefully, the Emerald will be able to pick up some sort of signal within that area so they could finally defeat Eggman and end this awful war once and for all.

Meanwhile, Eggman and Starline had been anticipating to unleash a never before seen machine that Eggman had stored away for so long.

"Sir, with all due respect, are you sure that thing is fully functional?" Starline was a bit concerned over the machines condition, seeing as it's never been used and was forced to stay in a dark room, collecting dust for God knows how long.

"With the Master Emerald's help? Definitely!" The Doctor confirmed. "Sonic and his pesky friends aren't gonna know what hit them! All those androids you've been deploying thanks to that sweet Warp Topaz...those were just diversions, something to tire them out so they'd be too weak and hopeless against the big guns!"

As Eggman started laughing maniacally, Starline stood there with a smug smirk glued onto his bill.

"Hate to budge in on your...erhm, 'moment'...but when do you plan on using this beautiful machine?"

"As soon as it's fully operational, Starline. As soon as it's fully operational." Eggman sneered as the two observed the mech in question. "But if I were to put an estimate on the table, I'd say this thing'll be ready for takeoff within the next couple of hours. Just gotta wait for every ounce of the Master Emerald's chaotic energy to be implemented into it. Only then will be impenetrable, invincible, the most powerful machine I have ever created! Infinite was a complete failure because at heart, he was a Mobian and could easily be manipulated by 'feewings' and such." Eggman said in a mocking way.

"Forgive me, Sir, but wouldn't this thing be even stronger with the Chaos Emeralds?"

"That it would be. But I made the mistake of giving that moronic Infinite all of them. Good thing I had a backup plan in store in case Infinite failed me. And that backup plan is coming into fruition."

Eggman slowly leered back at Starline. His menacing, villanous laugh started from a small snicker, but over time, it grew into terrifying laughter that made even Starline feel a bit intimidated, though he was obligated to laugh along with him.

Sonic and the others were admant on staying as confident as they possibly could. But how prepared will they be for such a devastating machine?