Sonic the Hedgehog - 1,000,000 Degree War (IC/PG-13/Limited Acceptance)

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Flurry's the name, tech's my game or something like that."
"The name's Ken.  I've lived atop the Ferris Mountains my entire life...so let's just say...this is kind of a shock to me.  I've never met other Mobians before, other than my master."

Flurry for the Lemur and the hedgehog, Ken. One was a techie and the other was pretty much a hermit...joy. Zane wondered how fate entangled him with this pairing of a motley crew, but alas, that was something he honestly could have time to wonder about.

"So we have no idea where we are, right?  So let's find out. Let's start heading over there, and tell me what was going on before you fell here...this can't be a coincidence."

"Ah, investigation...yeah, shouldn't be too much of a problem in a dump like this." Zane shrugged sarcastically, already tailing behind the hedgehog as he walked at a fast pace. Even walking, hedgehogs were quick...that was for damn sure. "Anyway, you said you were atop Ferris Mountains, Ken? Yeah...gonna go on a wild limb here and say that's waaaaaaay far from here...probably just as far as Metropolis is from here. Cause I was in Metropolis about this time before the whole hole dealie."

The arctic wolf thought for a moment, trying to figure out if anything else was possibly connecting this. "I will say, I was helping some police officers out as a sort of hired hand to apprehend a criminal and after that, the skies got like pitch black...and of course this was after we had some creepy inky creatures to fight against. Like the type of boogeyman that parents tell their kids about just to keep them in line, ya know?"

[Doggo 218]

Zane taking to explaining himself first was helpful because Flurry was busy worrying he had broken the Chaos Tracker after all. It wouldn't stop making noises no matter how he fussed with it. Eventually the lemur decided maybe it was best to simply accept it was working as intended and from what little time he'd had with it he could make some sense of the device's output. There were two distinct readings but it took Flurry a moment to realize the second was there. It was smaller and removed from the immediate location. The second... that couldn't be right. As Zane described a very similar situation what he'd experienced prior to getting dropped here, Flurry shifted position, moving left and right some few feet and looking pretty intently in Ken's direction. Whatever this powerful reading was, it was on Ken's person.

"Same story here except I was out in the middle of no where checking out some canyon. It got swarmed with these crazy looking guys that were all identical to each other. I was just about to get on Roxie's ship when I fell here instead..." The lemur explained while looking at the Chaos Tracker, still making noise, again. "Hey, uh, Ken right? This question's probably not gonna make any sense, I mean I don't even know all that much about this stuff yet, so tell me if you have no idea what I'm talking about. But you wouldn't happen to have something... chaos related on you? Or like, chaos adjacent maybe. 'Cuz, wow, either this thing's more messed up than I thought or you're just swimming in whatever this chaos stuff is."

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"Ah, investigation...yeah, shouldn't be too much of a problem in a dump like this."  The Arctic wolf kept pace behind Ken, as they crossed the land.  Ken had never seen anything like a place like this...as if the ground itself was made of hard metal. "Anyway, you said you were atop Ferris Mountains, Ken? Yeah...gonna go on a wild limb here and say that's waaaaaaay far from here...probably just as far as Metropolis is from here. Cause I was in Metropolis about this time before the whole hole dealie."

"Hah!"  Ken laughed, "Yeah I have no idea where that is, so who knows!  But the Ferris Mountains are the tallest mountain range on Mobius!  You can practically see them from across the planet!"  That being said, Ken couldn't see it from where they were now.

"I will say, I was helping some police officers out as a sort of hired hand to apprehend a criminal and after that, the skies got like pitch black...and of course this was after we had some creepy inky creatures to fight against. Like the type of boogeyman that parents tell their kids about just to keep them in line, ya know?"

Inky creatures?  Pitch black sky?  Looks like they all had pretty much the same experience before coming here.

"Same story here except I was out in the middle of no where checking out some canyon. It got swarmed with these crazy looking guys that were all identical to each other. I was just about to get on Roxie's ship when I fell here instead..." The lemur explained while looking at the strange device they held in their hands. "Hey, uh, Ken right? This question's probably not gonna make any sense, I mean I don't even know all that much about this stuff yet, so tell me if you have no idea what I'm talking about. But you wouldn't happen to have something... chaos related on you? Or like, chaos adjacent maybe. 'Cuz, wow, either this thing's more messed up than I thought or you're just swimming in whatever this chaos stuff is."

Ken stopped in his tracks at the mention of Chaos.  He turned to Flurry, and nodded.  He dug into his vest, and brought forth a shining, silver jewel.  

"This was something my master gave me before I also fell into one of those portals.  I was never the best student, but if I remember correctly, this is a Chaos Emerald."  Ken took some time to get a good look of the artifact, it's silver gleam glistening in the rays of the sun.  "It's said that these things contain crazy power...but I don't feel anything when I hold it."  He sighed.  "I just don't have a knack for Chaos I guess."  Kio then turned to Zane.  "And those inky creatures...they're a being called Mephiles the Dark.  I don't really know who he is, but my Master had beef with him.  They were fighting before I was forced to go."  His fist clutched tightly, his knuckles popping loudly as he did so.  "I don't know about you guys...but I'm going to destroy Mephiles, and save Mobius."  Ken then brought himself to a knee.  "I know you guys don't know me...but my master chose you two for a reason...so will you two help me?"

 

 

Chimera flung his arms up defensively, as the spines of Silver Sonic lodged themselves into his arms.  A low humming noise emanated from the sharp steel, turning into a high frequency beeping in the matter of milliseconds.  An explosion erupted from Chimera's arms, sending him flying backwards and onto the floor.  Sparks began to fly from Chimera's limbs, but they were still operational.  From the smoke, Mecha emerged once more in a full throttle assault.  Chimera's back thruster boosted him to his feet, as he met Mecha head on with a clash of fists.  Their metallic knuckles scraped against each other, the friction of steel causing even more sparks to sail through the air.  Chimera's fractured arms gave way, as Mecha's punch met his face.  

"Pathetic."  Mecha Sonic groaned, as he approached the fallen MS-11.  "And here I was expecting to get serious."

"I'm a new model."  Chimera chided.  "You're gonna have to do better than serious."  Chimera picked himself off the floor, Metal Sonic's rusted frame just within vision.  His left arm shifted into a chain gun, taking it's time to do so due to the damage his arms had sustained.  The Badnik then twisted around, to unleash a barrage of bullets towards Mecha.  Mecha crouched down, and entered his spiked ball form, ripping into the steel floor below as he began to twirl with force.  He shot forward, deflecting every bullet that came his way, eventually colliding with Chimera's body once again.  MS-11 flew across the room, and outside the main door, where he fell in line of sight of 3 biological signatures.

"HAHAHAHA!"  Mecha Sonic cackled, as he strutted out of the Eggquarters.  "Your parts are as good as mine, Chimera!"  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Hey, uh, Ken right? This question's probably not gonna make any sense, I mean I don't even know all that much about this stuff yet, so tell me if you have no idea what I'm talking about. But you wouldn't happen to have something... chaos related on you? Or like, chaos adjacent maybe. 'Cuz, wow, either this thing's more messed up than I thought or you're just swimming in whatever this chaos stuff is."

"Yeah no lie though...that beeping is kinda getting annoying..." Zane commented, eyeing the device in Flurry's hands.

"This was something my master gave me before I also fell into one of those portals.  I was never the best student, but if I remember correctly, this is a Chaos Emerald. It's said that these things contain crazy power...but I don't feel anything when I hold it. I just don't have a knack for Chaos I guess. And those inky creatures...they're a being called Mephiles the Dark.  I don't really know who he is, but my Master had beef with him.  They were fighting before I was forced to go."

The more Zane looked at this..."Chaos Emerald", the more he could've sworn he'd seen something like this before...maybe if it was a different color perhaps, but he figured he'd seen something like this before back home. Then again, maybe he was just a little loopy from the sudden teleporting here? However, he also tilted his head slightly, thinking about something else: the word "Chaos". Just like that little trinket Ken held, he felt like he heard that specific word before... I think my dad mentioned it before...then again, might've been when I was zoning out of the lesson... Zane thought, not for sure where he heard it from. Nevertheless, there was still the last part of that sentence that Ken spoke... Mephiles the Dark? So that's what those things were called? It sounded too edgy to be real, but the look in Ken's eyes practically confirmed it was real.

"I know you guys don't know me...but my master chose you two for a reason...so will you two help me?"

"First off...no need for the kneeling...I'm not all about that." Zane quickly said, shaking his head as Ken did this. "Second, I'll help you out. I may be in over my head with something like this, but if someone needs help, I may as well do what I can to do my part, ya know?"

CRASH!!!!!

BGM

"HAHAHAHA! Your parts are as good as mine, Chimera!"

The arctic wolf looked at the robotic entity that had just crashed through into view of him and the others...annnnnnnd of course, another...much more menacing looking machine that was gloating as it approached what he could only assume was called "Chimera".

Was this a robot battle going on? Well, whatever was going on...the one that had just landed on the ground in their eyesight seemed to be on the back-foot. "This day just gets weirder and weirder." Zane muttered, before shaking his head slightly. The air around him got colder as he immediately decided now was a good a chance as any to both show Ken what he could do...as well as help this "Chimera" bot. Within that moment, he rushed forward, making a mad dash between Chimera and the menacing machine...the ground in front of him becoming icy as his speed began to increase until he got in between the two.

"Hey, hope you don't mind me giving your dance partner a bit of a virus." Zane smirked, shifting his stance before slamming his hands on the ground and proceeding to coat the ground in front of him and the menacing machine with thick ice. "And by a virus...I mean a very strong cold!" he chuckled, before tossing two icicles at the machine's feet.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Chaos Sonic

[Doggo 218]

Flurry was definitely going to need some time to process things. That he had never before today heard the term chaos was one thing. Meeting two people that knew what it was and then having an object of chaos so powerful the tracker seemed ready to break was quite another. After some more fidgeting with the device Flurry seemed to have silenced it though it was still reading the two signals loud and clear. Trying to make sense of the chaos emerald occupied much of the lemur's thoughts as Ken spoke of Mephiles and his master. Before Flurry could catch up with it all, the hedgehog was kneeling asking for their help to save Mobius, going so far as to say his master had chosen them. Who Ken's master was, what he had chosen them to do, and what he could do to help save the whole world were some more questions to pile onto the list he was quickly forming. Surely, he thought, Ken couldn't be serious about all this. And yet nothing about the hedgehog's face implied anything but the utmost sincerity in what he was saying and asking. Thankfully, Zane spoke some of Flurry's shared concerns though the Lemur wasn't so sure about so quickly signing onto a project so large as save Mobius.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we got time to sort some of this out. Let's figure out where we are first and go from there." Flurry spoke in a tone that was clear of his discomfort with things though not entirely dismissive of the proposal. And as it happened there wasn't to be much choice in the matter as something flew into view with a crashing noise. Two robots as it happened seemed to be fighting, one of which seemed to be named Chimera. What either was doing here Flurry could only guess but the lemur knew he wanted no part of it. So naturally as he turned to leave Zane jumped into battle, drawing his attention back to the robots. Whether or not Chimera was something they could trust the wolf was busy attacking the other combatant with a pun that sent a shiver down the lemur's spine more than the actual ice he summoned could have hoped to do.

"You guys sure about this? They could both be bad news." he tried to reason with his two new acquaintances. But somehow that didn't seem like it was going to prove productive. With a groan the lemur went against his better judgment for the second time that day. "A bridge to cross when we get to it I guess." Flurry said to no one in particular as he readied his own power. He unleashed a blast of wind would follow behind Zane's icicles looking to knock the more immediately aggressive robot back some after it hopefully got skewered.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

"First off...no need for the kneeling...I'm not all about that." The wolf said, shaking his head. "Second, I'll help you out. I may be in over my head with something like this, but if someone needs help, I may as well do what I can to do my part, ya know?"

"Yeah, well, I'm sure we got time to sort some of this out. Let's figure out where we are first and go from there." 

Ken smiled, lifting off of his knee to stand up straight.  

"You have my thanks, Zane."  Flurry on the other hand was a bit more hesitant to give a straight answer.  Something that was totally acceptable in the circumstances he found himself in.  "Flurry's right.  Let's continue to gather information.  Can't do anything about saving Mobius if we don't even know what part we're on!"  Ken's attention was then drawn towards the clanking of metal on the ground, a strange sort of golem erupting from the building they had decided to investigate.  It was followed shortly by a more imposing golem of metal.  Ken's fist tightened.  This was most definitely a fight.  

A piercing red eye met Ken's, and then scanned the rest of the group.

"ORGANICS!?  On this Island?!  Impossible!"  An Arctic Wolf then placed himself in between the two Badniks.  Ice appeared before the wolf, coating the ground below in a thick layer of frost.  Mecha could already feel his grip on the ground slipping.  "And troublesome one's at that!"  The icicles shot forth at his feet, the first shattering as Mecha brought a swift kick to it.  However, the momentum, and slick surface he found himself on, made him fall off balance.  The second icicle, made impact with Mecha's waist.  At the exact moment of impact, Flurry's wind gave the icicle a push that drove it through the metal.  "HRGH!"  Mecha grunted, as the Icicle remained lodged in his lower body, small sparks flying, as he received warnings of less movement function of his left leg.  "Troublesome pests!"

Chimera tried to stand to his feet, but slipped on his damaged arm.  

"What are Organics doing in Eggland."  

Ken stepped up to Chimera's side, not looking at the unsettling sight of moving metal.  

"We were teleported here."  Ken looked around at the metallic place they had found themselves in.  It definitely hadn't seemed like a natural structure from the moment they landed here.  It must've been created.  "Eggland huh...I've never heard of it."

The thought that the name of the mighty Dr. Robotnik had faded from modern consciousness almost brought his mental capacitors to their brink.  He was livid.  If he could take this Mobian's life, he would do so in an instant.  However, now was not the time.  He had to save Metal.  He had to defeat Mecha.  The white Hedgehog offered a hand to Chimera, causing the Badnik to pause briefly.  

"You don't seem like the bad guy here.  Let us help you."  

Another brief pause in Chimera's murderous thoughts was followed by a swift slap of Ken's hand.

"I need no help from Organics.  I am MS-11 Chimera.  The peak of the great Dr. Robotnik's designs!"  Chimera pushed himself up, sparks flying from his arms as he did so.  "I'll accept your help for now, Hedgehog."  

"Ken."  the white Hedgehog crossed his arms.  "My name is Ken."

The two looked at each other, Chimera's head titled down towards him.

"Hedgehog."  Chimera stated, as he walked towards the conflict.  Ken did the same, walking slowly behind the Metallic Golem.  The Mobians he had found himself in the company of seemed to be incredibly capable.  Flurry commanded the wind, as Zane did with Ice.  

"You guys are incredible."  He said, striking the same pose he had as he had met them the first time.  "Let me show you what I can do."

Mecha shattered the ice that protruded from his frame, leaving a chunk in his body. 

"So...you've been hiding Organics from me to use for an ambush?  How pathetic, Chimera."  Mecha Sonic's arm shifted into a gun, with a flame held out in front of it.  He shot a flame towards Zane, melting the ice path from underneath the two of them with a rushing torrent of flame.  He then turned the fire up, aiming it completely at Zane.  Chimera did nothing, but saw that the white Hedgehog had disappeared from his vision.  A crater, in the metal had formed from where he last stood.  Suddenly, Ken appeared right in front of the fire's path.  

"HURRIKEN!"  Ken roared, as he kicked the space in front of the fire.  A strong gust of wind, almost as strong as Flurry's prior attack, followed Ken's kick, as it put out the entire stream of fire almost instantaneously.  Ken landed, dashing forward again to land a roundhouse kick straight into Mecha's side.  

"WHAT?!"  Both Mecha and Chimera exclaimed, as Mecha's posture crumbled beneath the incredible weight of Ken's kick.  Ken's kick followed through, as he sent Mecha flying across the ground.  He made contact with the ground, but wasn't able to land, as he bounced a couple of more times down the road.  The hedgehog lowered his leg, as he let out a deep breath.  

"I've fought trees tougher than you, golem."  Ken gloated, cracking a smile.  He'd never been in a real fight until this moment.  

"I. Am not. A golem!"  Mecha said, as he staggered back to his feet.  "I am Mecha Sonic!  THE GREATEST CREATION OF ROBOTNIK!  And the last thing you will ever see!"  Mecha Sonic then launched four missiles from his arm cannon, one aimed at each of the others.  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"And troublesome one's at that! Troublesome pests!"

"Funny, that's the first time I've been called anything like that." Zane smirked, seeing the mechanized psycho now having the icicle lodged in it's lower body. He glanced over at Flurry and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice combo there! Definitely helps me out with my aim for sure!"

"So...you've been hiding Organics from me to use for an ambush?  How pathetic, Chimera."

Zane watched as the mechanized creature's arm seemed to change, once it got out the ice of his lower body...only leaving a chunk in it's body. And what did the arm turn into? Weeeeeeeell...

BGM

"I-IS THAT A FLAMETHROWER?!?" he exclaimed, his eyes widening quite a bit as he immediately slid backwards. True to his intuition with the arm gun, the gun began to spew fire and soon Zane watched his ice melt as quickly as it came before. What was worse, now this was going to hinder his whole attack plans to an extent. With the flamethrower going right now, that was going to hurt the moisture in the air. Damnit...it HAD to be a type of enemy with fire, didn't it? he thought, slightly groaning.

Then again, he noticed a bit of a blur go by and then...

"HURRIKEN!"
"WHAT?!"

"H-Holy Chaos!!!" Zane blinked a bit, just watching Ken doing what he just did. "...what the actual Northern Tundra was that?! I mean...a-are hedgehogs normally THAT strong?!" he asked, a bit slackjawed, though he watched the bot now firing off four missiles in their direction. He began to grit his teeth slightly, as he tried his best to call an icicle to his hand and immediately throwing in the direction of the missile...then again, he hoped there was enough moisture in the air for this to happen. "Fire...yeah, heat and whatnot ain't helping me and my ice powers out...hopefully there's enough moisture..."

[Doggo 218]

Flurry seemed almost surprised at how effective his attack had been in combination with Zane's ice. The lemur had strongly expected a robot built this tough to have been able to dodge him pretty readily. But then he had been fighting another just as dangerous looking robot so perhaps the two had broken some of each other's systems down. It really was a shame any of this was happening because more than anything the tech obsessed Mobian wanted to just take a moment to plug his computer into their brains and take a look at their operating system's code. But before Flurry could ready himself for another attack Ken went in and made him wonder if there was going to be much of the thing's brain left to examine at all. Whatever Hurriken meant, the hedghog had punched the robot with such intensity that a gust of wind not unlike Flurry's own had shot off and extinguished nearby flames. It took the lemur a moment to process that this wasn't someone with his own powers but rather just a muscle head hedgehog that had trained his body to an impossible degree.

"The hell kind of freak show did I get dropped in on..." Flurry muttered to himself, ignoring his own bizarre nature for the time being. He wasn't allowed the time to react as several missiles had been launched by the hostile robot, one for each of them. This seemed like something of an every mobian or robot for themselves kind of thing or at least that's what Flurry left it as not wanting to mess with anyone's plan to intercept their own missile and mess everything up. The lemur took the split second he still had to aim and fired off a series of small concentrated air blasts at the incoming projectile. Each was spaced and angled such that he could push the object up and over him high into a wall or structure behind him.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

The four missiles continued to barrel towards the unlikely team.  However, one was intercepted by Zane's ice, blowing up in the process.  The rocket heading towards Flurry had changed course dramatically, due to harsh wind currents, and sailed over the Lemur's head.  It exploded as it headed straight towards the ground.  Chimera opted to go with the same plan as Zane, locking onto the missile heading towards him, and aiming at it with his own arm cannon.  He managed to shoot off a couple of bullets, hitting the projectile dead on with each, causing it to explode in the air.  Ken watched as the three dispatched their very own rockets, but Ken had a different idea entirely.  He ran towards his missile in a sudden dash.  Meeting it in the middle, Ken grabbed on to the side of the explosive with both hands.  The force of the rocket shoved him back somewhat, but he now held it firmly in his hands.  

"Improvised Martial Technique!  Return to Kender!"  Ken send, spinning around twice, and lobbing the missile right back at Mecha.

"WHAT?!"  The menacing machination retorted, before the missile impacted him at twice the speed it was launched at.  As all the dust settled, Mecha Sonic stood there in a hobbled pile of metal and sparks.  "Gah...impossible...I am Mecha Sonic..."  Mecha Sonic's systems were firing off system failure after system failure.  His leg had all but ceased function, and his vision was shorting in and out.  The attacks from these Mobians had done a surprising amount of damage to him...not that he was in the very best condition from the start of the fight.  "DAMNIT!  This is not what I was told would happen..."  Chaos' chest opened up to reveal a Red Jewel.  "I must make a tactical retreat for now...do not die before I have the chance to rip you apart myself, Mobians!  CHAOS CONTROL!"  

"You're finished!"  Chimera shouted, before unleashing another hail of bullets towards Mecha.  However, before the bullets met their destination, Mecha sonic had disappeared in a weird distortion of reality.  He had vanished without a trace.  "Damn you...you coward!"  Chimera slammed a fist into the ground, denting the metal floor with ease.  He took a moment, before rising to his feet slowly.  "Now the question is...what to do with the rest of you."  His red eyes glared towards the group of Mobians.  Ken turned back to see Chimera now staring down his comrades.  He put himself between the three in a flash, holding out his arms.

"We don't want to fight you, Chimera!  We didn't mean to trespass."  Ken shouted.  Chimera's eyes lowered their brightness settings from Glare to tepid.

"Hmph.  As if you'd stand a chance.  I have no intentions of eliminating you at the moment.  On the contrary.  I am sadly in your debts for your assistance in repelling my brother. Wait here one moment."  Chimera began to walk towards the large building he had been explosively ejected out of.  He looked at the crumpled, rusted state of his brother, Metal Sonic.  Rubbing the top of his head, Chimera took the drive that had downloaded his consciousness, and placed it in a holding compartment in his arm.  "Don't worry brother...I will make sure your will shall carry on."  He turned away from the lifeless shell, leaving it behind as he walked out of the door.  Chimera began walking in the opposite direction of the site of the battle, motioning towards the  group of Mobians.  "Follow me." 

Ken nodded.  He looked to the other two before shrugging.

"I don't know if we can trust this guy...but It's not like we can leave anytime soon."  He began to follow Chimera, walking briskly behind the tall robot.  

"As I mentioned to you before, hedgehog, you are on the Island known as Eggland.  A creation of my brilliant creator, Dr. Robotnik.  This island is miles away from any sort of Mobian mainland...you'll be stranded here unless you can find a way to get across the sea."  

"I see."  Ken stated, looking back towards the horizon.

"No.  The sea.  Anyway, when I accessed the island's intranet, I noticed that there were still records of a certain sea faring vessel still here.  If I'm able to get it up and running, I'm sure it'll be of use to you."  In no time, the group had found themselves in some sort of underground hanger.  As the lights came on, a singular, large vessel was shown in the room.  "This was once part of my creators grand fleet.  It has sat here for nearly 200 years, unused.  It is regrettable that I would let lowly Mobians use it, but if this absolves me of further helping you then so be i-" Chimera's body began to spontaneously explode in array of sparks, as his eyes burnt out.  He collapsed to the floor in an instant, unable to move

"CHIMERA!"  Ken shouted.  He ran up to the robot, before trying to lift him up.  He was incredibly heavy, but Ken managed to flip him onto his back.  The gaps in his armor, and his damaged arm shot sparks all over the place.  "Something's wrong with him!  Is either of you good at fixing whatever the hell he is?!"  

Edited August 29, 2021 by Mr. Hyde

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"I must make a tactical retreat for now...do not die before I have the chance to rip you apart myself, Mobians!  CHAOS CONTROL!"

Crisis averted...but the machine just...teleported and or vanished? With a red stone that looked eerily similar to the one that Ken had...strange...very strange. Regardless, Zane let out an exhaustive sounding sigh as he lifted his arms in victory somewhat. "Awesome...guess that means we win?" he asked, looking over at Flurry then Ken and lastly Chimera.

Then of course, Chimera seemed to wonder what to do with them...but luckily Ken was already in the mode of peace talking...so seemed like things were already in a good standing as the robot began to lead them somewhere. That didn't seem ominous...

"I don't know if we can trust this guy...but It's not like we can leave anytime soon."
"As I mentioned to you before, hedgehog, you are on the Island known as Eggland.  A creation of my brilliant creator, Dr. Robotnik.  This island is miles away from any sort of Mobian mainland...you'll be stranded here unless you can find a way to get across the sea."

"Across the sea?!" Zane was floored at the sudden revelation of this. So not only was he not in Metropolis anymore...he was MILES AWAY from any Mobian mainland. He rubbed the bridge of his nose slightly, letting out a heavy sigh. "This is not a frosty situation at all...can also probably say good bye to that paycheck Harvey and Becky were going to give me..." He shook his head slightly before noticing Chimera falter and explode in an array of sparks and collapsed on the ground.

"Something's wrong with him!  Is either of you good at fixing whatever the hell he is?!"

Zane moved over and looked at it...just as he feared: he had NO Mobius idea what to do in a situation like this. But, if he had to make a wager, Flurry did. The arctic wolf looked at the lemur and whistled. "I think this might be your forté, Mr. Techs-My-Game." he said, before turning back towards the bot and cracked his knuckles. "Give me some space for a sec, Ken." Without missing a beat, he made the air around Chimera colder and watched as ice started to form around his metallic body, most likely steam coming from this happening. "I may not be able to do tech related things...but I can at least cool the bot down a bit."

[Doggo 218]

Ken the hedgehog seemed to be a constant source of surprises as he redirected missiles and seemed intent on trusting this Chimera robot. It was like he almost didn't operate on the same logic Flurry knew the world worked on. Trying to process it too long was going to get him killed under the current circumstances except that the other robot seemed to be quickly meeting its end. The battle ended almost as abruptly as the lemur had been brought into all of it but what stood out most to him was another reading on the Chaos Tracker. That brief glimpse of the red jewel, it must have been similar to what Ken had on him. Regardless that was a subject of discussion for another time as the trio soon found themselves left with just Chimera who didn't seem particularly friendly at this point. Though he stopped shy of actually attacking them, offering them instead an explanation of where they were and a means off of it.

"Eggland? Robotnik? That stuff can't be real. All those old stories." Flurry muttered to himself while the group walked. He was lost in thoughts at this point, a stupor only interrupted by the amazing looking tech presented to the group in the form of the ship they were being offered as a means of getting home. But before the Lemur could explore the machiene at all, Chimera ceased operating in a spectacular fashion in a display of sparks. Ken wanted to fix him and Zane was on a good train of thought with immediately chilling the robot's everything. But as the wolf turned the question to him, Flurry couldn't help but hesitate.

"Look if this really is Eggland I dont think... I mean he was gonna... but I guess he didn't..." Flurry kept starting and stopping thoughts half way. Eventually he did settle on an idea as he brought out his computer which he'd been running for his life with. A blessing it was to still have it on hand as he doubted he could have done much with just the Chaos Tracker. With the chilled air in no short supply Flurry sat down by the pile of clutter that was just a moment ago Chimera and began directing the air with his own powers into the deeper parts of the robot, the head in particular as it seemed to be the source of the sparks. Outwardly there was no obvious way to go about this so the Lemur naturally began searching for panels to remove, buttons to press, switches to flip, or anything else of the sort. Eventually he was able to not so gently pry one of the boards protecting chimera's head open enough to find an access port which he linked his computer into.

"Lotta work for nothing if his motherboard's fried." Flurry muttered as the connection to the robot's coding was being established. A bizarre logo filled the computer screen, one that was plastered all over the island too upon closer inspection. And the usually cod-savy mobian was left with some of the most confusing coding he'd ever seen in his life. The language, style, structure all of it was off to him.

"Ohhhhh that's not good." He said, nearly defeated at just the sight of it all. "Well, I can't really break him anymore than he already is so... This one's for luck." He said as he began parsing through the code and trying things at near random. Several minutes of intense silence passed as Flurry made no remarks and responded to no questions asked of him. The moments dragged on for eternity before a breakthrough.

"Aha! Take that, the world makes sense again!" he celebrated. It was a minor victory but the beginnings of the code structure were beginning to click and navigating the information was becoming possible. And more than anything he needed a guide on how to put Chimera back together again. A sentient robot would surely have them sitting around somewhere in its databanks. Sure enough the lemur found schematic data and made that the focus of his screen.

"Well lookie here. We know how he's supposed to look. This is gonna be messy without the exact tools but see if you guys can't find something." Flurry stated, passing on the task of gathering improvised tools to Ken and Zane. With whatever they could muster gathered Flurry quickly had Chimera partly disassembled which seemed distinctly like a step in the wrong direction to the untrained eye. But things began moving in the right direction until the lemur encountered an obstacle. Trying to move Chimera's limbs with his motors completely inactive instead of idle was no small task and Flurry was no weight lifter. Thankfully, Ken seemed up to the task.

"Your job is gonna be to move pieces into the right places when I need them." he explained, keeping things as simple as he could. But then another road block. The burn out itself. Reassembling him perfectly wouldn't help much without new fuses. The lemur had to sit and think about this one for a moment while he poured over the coding some more. Eventually he was getting Chimera's systems to run diagnostics on the exact nature of the damage but it was going to take a bit to take full stock of everything.

"Well, playing the waiting game for a bit... so...." he started awkwardly with these two relative strangers. "Guess now's as good a time as any to ask you guys what you do with your time when you're not falling through portals and fighting robots."

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

Ken felt rather useless, as he watched the two synergize their abilities and expertise to try and fix the broken down Badnik.  He could only watch on as the two did their best.  Whilst working on the metal homunculus, Flurry kept on about how Eggland was only a story, and something about the board of mother's.  It was all very complicated mumbo jumbo that didn't process well in Ken's brain.  He was never the smart one.  Wait...was there another?  Thinking too hard about all of these things was starting to give him a major migraine the size of Mobius.   

"Well lookie here. We know how he's supposed to look. This is gonna be messy without the exact tools but see if you guys can't find something."

Finally!  Something Ken might be able to help with!  

"You got it Flurry!  You help too, Zane!"  With newfound enthusiasm, Ken dashed around the area.  It was a place where they held a bunch of technology, so they obviously had stuff laying around to fix said technology, right??  With enough effort, and a little speed, Ken made it back to hand Flurry a screwdriver of sorts...it had way too many extensions to be called just a screwdriver though.  Miraculously, the Lemur was able to work with the tools that he was handed.  Ken let out a sigh of relief.  For now, it was time to reassemble to Badnik.  Flurry seemed to have trouble lifting the parts, while also being precise.

"Your job is gonna be to move pieces into the right places when I need them."

"Roger that!"  Ken saluted, listening to Flurry's careful instructions.  To him, it was a piece of cake.  He could easily lift trees from the Ferris Mountains without much effort, so a little metal was nothing he couldn't handle.  When the puzzle was all put together, they had to play the waiting game, as Flurry began to run 'diagnostics', whatever those were.  

"Guess now's as good a time as any to ask you guys what you do with your time when you're not falling through portals and fighting robots."

"Well...when I'm not fighting for my life or getting sent away from my Grandpa's house...I'd usually spend all day kicking trees.  He didn't let me go out much, either...I basically only went to town with him to get Groceries."  He didn't know it, but his eyes were beginning to well up.  "Gramps wanted me to study all the time, but I hate studying!  It ain't really my forte.  So instead of reading some old books, I'd sneak outside and start working up a real sweat!"  Ken fluffed his vest.  "I wear weighted gear all the time too!  Gramps said that I'd need to be really strong one day, so I could hopefully save all of Mobius!"  Ken paused for a moment, as he sat down.  "I think this is what I was needed to be strong for...this whole disaster thing...but he sent me away like I hadn't been ready for it my whole life.  I wish he would've let me fight alongside him...we could've taken on that whole army!"  Ken's head perked back up, as he wiped his eyes dry.  "AH!  Sorry to drag down the mood like that, but I'm not very interesting...what about you guys!?  You guys seem to know a lot about Mobius...I'd like to hear about your stories!"  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Guess now's as good a time as any to ask you guys what you do with your time when you're not falling through portals and fighting robots."

Oh, Zane knew that his own answer wasn't going to be as grandiose as anything presented here, but hey...the lemur asked a question and who was Zane to not give a proper answer? But luckily for him, Ken spoke up first.

"Well...when I'm not fighting for my life or getting sent away from my Grandpa's house...I'd usually spend all day kicking trees.  He didn't let me go out much, either...I basically only went to town with him to get Groceries. Gramps wanted me to study all the time, but I hate studying!  It ain't really my forte.  So instead of reading some old books, I'd sneak outside and start working up a real sweat! I wear weighted gear all the time too!  Gramps said that I'd need to be really strong one day, so I could hopefully save all of Mobius! I think this is what I was needed to be strong for...this whole disaster thing...but he sent me away like I hadn't been ready for it my whole life.  I wish he would've let me fight alongside him...we could've taken on that whole army! AH!  Sorry to drag down the mood like that, but I'm not very interesting...what about you guys!?  You guys seem to know a lot about Mobius...I'd like to hear about your stories!"

"Well, that takes the cake for the story that has more to do about it than anyone else." Zane chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "But I guess I can indulge you guys in some stuff from my end." he said, still making sure to keep Chimera cooled off, though once he was the arctic wolf would stop. "I come from the Northern Tundra, or at least, that's where I was born and raised. Currently I'm living in Metropolis, ya know, trying to find myself and what not."

He paused for a moment, tapping his chin slightly. "Hobbies include snowboarding...when I can...and...well...guess that's sorta it on that part. Truth be told, I'm a chill guy. Out of everything, this here has given me the most excitement of my life."

[Doggo 218]

The more Ken spoke the more Flurry realized just how sheltered the Hedgehog actually was. Whoever his grandpa was he'd kept the poor boy almost completely isolated from society. And while he may have had good intentions trying to teach Ken things, it sounded like fighting was about all he wanted to do. That was simple enough anyway. Keep everything sufficiently dumbed down was a simple enough solution to things. The trick at this point was not looking at Ken like he was a wild animal when he said things that didn't make any sense to the lemur. Something told Flurry that was going to be a lot harder than it had any business to. Zane on the other hand was a lot easier to make sense of.

"Oh man, Metropolis! Now that's a town to live in." Flurry started excitedly before settling some. "Ya know, for a bit anyway. Some cool stuff and all but too many people." the lemur spoke as though he had lived there. Despite being such a population and tech hub he had actually yet to pass through on his wanderings. During both of the other's answering his question Flurry had been mulling over in his mind just how much he ought to share with these strangers. They both seemed weirdly trusting of him despite not knowing him and that kind of honesty wasn't something he was used to.

"Maybe not so dangerous but I'd probs wanna be spending my time making something as complicated as Chimera here." He began in offering some kind of answer of his own. "On the coding side anyway. I really can't stress bad of an actual mechanic I am. You just pick up some hardware stuff when you overclock stuff into obliv-" the lemur said before being cut off by some beeping from his computer. An unusually fast diagnostic. Well, calling it unusual wasn't fair he had no idea how Chimera normally operated. Maybe this was slow for the machine.

"Well, what's the damage?" Flurry questioned the screen, hesitant in case he was going to have to start replacing fuses. His heart sank. "Ugh, come on! I know you overheated and everything but you couldn't have shut off before blowing that?" the techy questioned the unmoving Chimera at this point. Still he seemed to regain some energy after more thoroughly examining the results. "Well, thinking positively, he didn't fry any of his processors or his motherboard. Less positively, I need like half a dozen replacement fuses from..." he looked around to the ever present piles of junk. "Any of that." He moaned in frustration as he stood up and began digging around inside Chimera again. He withdrew two small tubes with even smaller wires running down the center of them. One the wire had snapped and was black on the broken ends, the other was clean and still connected.

"Good fuse," he started whiled holding the unbroken fuse forward. "Bad fuse." Flurry continued while holding the burnt one out. "I need as many of these good ones as we can find from around here before I can even think of booting him back up." He explained to Ken and Zane. Hopefully all of this Eggland tech used the same building materials. The coding language wasn't giving him much confidence but between the three of them it seemed they were fortunate. With how broken everything was, that any fuses were still in working order felt like something of a miracle. Once reconvened the lemur set about working for what seemed an eternity as he fiddled with the fuses, withdrawing broken ones from Chimera's body and replacing them with the new ones. Flurry said and responded to almost nothing beyond requests for tools or parts out of reach. Eventually he wiped his brow with a sigh and began putting Chimera back together, taking full advantage of Ken's brute strength to move the heavier components into proper place.

"So, he's not on fire, more than cooled down, fuses replaced, body put back together in about as good an order as we're gonna get with what we have. Who wants to do the honors?" Flurry said to the others while motioning to the touch screen keyboard on his computer which held out for Ken and Zane to see. There was a lot of technobabble but what seemed important was the large phrase "BOOT UP?" and the yes option currently selected.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"Well, that takes the cake for the story that has more to do about it than anyone else." Ken chuckled with a hint of embarrassment.  He really did go on for too long right there. "But I guess I can indulge you guys in some stuff from my end." Zane continued to use his ice powers to cool down Chimera's overheated body. "I come from the Northern Tundra, or at least, that's where I was born and raised. Currently I'm living in Metropolis, ya know, trying to find myself and what not.  Hobbies include snowboarding...when I can...and...well...guess that's sorta it on that part. Truth be told, I'm a chill guy. Out of everything, this here has given me the most excitement of my life."

Northern Tundra?  North?  That was up, right?

"Snowboarding?!  That sounds awesome!"  Ken's fists rattled in front of his chest with giddied excitement.  "You gotta teach me sometime!  That sounds rad!"  

"Oh man, Metropolis! Now that's a town to live in.  Ya know, for a bit anyway. Some cool stuff and all but too many people."

"Get it?  Cool?"  Ken snickered, pointing at Zane's frosty beams.  "Heh!"

"Maybe not so dangerous but I'd probs wanna be spending my time making something as complicated as Chimera here  On the coding side anyway. I really can't stress bad of an actual mechanic I am. You just pick up some hardware stuff when you overclock stuff into obliv-"  

Ken was lost in Flurry's techno-babble, but the Lemur was cut short by his computer.  The 'diagnostics' had completed!  Now they knew what was really wrong with Chimera.  Something fuss about fuses.  Flurry said he'd need a bunch of them.  Just as Ken opened his mouth to ask what the heck a fuse was, Flurry game each of them an example of a bad fuse, and a good fuse.  A new mission was at hand!  

"I sure can't fix stuff!  I'm more of the wrecking ball type.  But I have a knack for search and rescue!"  Ken sprung to his feet, and did a spin dash mid-air, only to pop out of his roll with his arms and legs stuck out.  "Betcha I can find more than you, Zane!  Loser buys the winner Lunch the next time we hit Metropolis!"  Ken mad a mad dash for one of the endless piles of metal that littered this island.  However, every time he dug through one, all he could find were the bad fuses.  It was getting to a point of frustration for him, but he persevered.  Chimera had helped them survive the ordeal after all.  After what felt like an eternity, Ken only managed to dig out 4 fuses that were in acceptable condition.  When he and Zane returned a winner would obviously be determined, but their objective had been completed.  Chimera was able to be operational once more.  

"So, he's not on fire, more than cooled down, fuses replaced, body put back together in about as good an order as we're gonna get with what we have. Who wants to do the honors?"

The big letters on Flurry's monitor read, 'Boot Up?'.  It prompted him to look at his shoes for some reason.  He grinded the ball of his foot into the floor, and then looked to each of them.  A big smile came across his face.  

"Well.  We're a team now right?"  Ken grabbed Flurry's and Zane's hand, and molded there hands to have their pointer finger raised.  "I think we should all have the honors!"  Ken, alongside the other two, pressed the Boot Up button as a unit. 

A couple of beeps and boops rang out through the scrapped hangar.  Thanks to the relatively low lighting of the place, it was clear to see when Chimera's eyes came back to life.  The Badnik shot up straight, sitting on the floor with the rest of them, as he scanned the Mobians with curiosity.  

"I am...Operational?"  Chimera outstretched his arms, to take a good look at the repaired damage he had received to his body.  "Hmph...amateurish work at best..."  He scoffed, as he tested out the motor functionality of his fingers.  He looked to the Lemur who sat in front of a computer.  "You.  You might be talented.  But don't think this compares you in any sort of way to the great Doctor.  You are just a Mobian after all."  Chimera stood up straight.

"Don't look down on us Mobians, tin head."  Ken chided.  "It was a Mobian who saved your metal butt after all."  He crossed his arms, and nudged his head towards Zane.  "Three of 'em, as a matter of fact."  Chimera gave Ken a hard stare for what seemed hours, only to avert his gaze moments later.  

"I suppose this is where an Organic would...thank you all."  Chimera stated.  "I, fortunately, am beyond such weakness as a creation of the Great Doctor."  The robot paused. "However...I have my own way of showing gratitude."  Chimera began walking to the lone ship in the hangar.  "Come.  Follow me once more."  Ken nodded to the others, as he followed behind Chimera.  They walked across a bridge of sorts, with railings trailing towards the ship.  "This was one of the flagships of the Egg Armada.  It was never given a true name, as it was never piloted by the Great Doctor.  Feel free to call it what you wish."  The door to the ship opened, as the team entered in suit.  "This ship comes equipped with living quarters, dining, and entertainment facilities...even though it was mainly crewed by inorganics.  The food on board is all dehydrated stock.  I'm sure it will be up to Mobian standards."  Chimera continued, as they entered the main cabin.  "This is where I will command the ship."

Ken stopped in his tracks.  

"Wait...you'll be driving?!"

"Does any one of you organics have the qualification to operate a E-Class warship?"  Silence feel throughout the cabin.  "My processors concluded this would be the case."  

"But...aren't you like...a bad guy?  Shouldn't you be trying to kill us after we leave Eggland?"  Ken asked in sheer confusion.  

"My programming consists of an ever evolving A.I.  If I had met you after coming online in my first hour of functionality, it would not have been a pretty sight.  However, I am able to make my own decisions while operating.  And I have decided that I shall accompany you.  After all, I have my own mission to accomplish."  Chimera took hold of the large wheel in the center of the room.  "Like I said...I have my own ways of showing gratitude."  Chimera turned to the rag tag bunch.  "Now...are there any more questions before we depart?"  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

The robot was fully functional again, surprisingly. Looks like the lemur did know what he was doing after all...so that was a good thing! And the cold deadpan responses from said "Chimera" were still about...eh, couldn't win them all.

"I suppose this is where an Organic would...thank you all. I, fortunately, am beyond such weakness as a creation of the Great Doctor. However...I have my own way of showing gratitude."

"Well, could be better than a thanks if anything..." Zane shrugged, following the robot along with the other two Mobians. He was expecting some sort of method to get back to civilization or something...but then again, he also wasn't expecting to see something along the lines of a MASSIVE armada battle ship, which simply caused the arctic wolf to let a small whistle happen in response to seeing it. "...yeah...no lie, this is better than a thank you."

"This ship comes equipped with living quarters, dining, and entertainment facilities...even though it was mainly crewed by inorganics. The food on board is all dehydrated stock.  I'm sure it will be up to Mobian standards. This is where I will command the ship."

While Ken was basically having a spas attack with knowing Chimera would be the one piloting the ship, Zane was just getting a feel and look at all the bells and whistles this ship had at it's disposal. He had to hand it to the murder-bot, this was definitely a fine looking ship, even if a bit outdated in things...but that's probably cause it was built a long time ago. Nothing some elbow grease couldn't fix, he figured.

"Now...are there any more questions before we depart?"

"None on my end, honestly." Zane shook his head, before nudging Ken. "And don't worry! I'm sure our own personal friend, the murder-bot, won't do anything too crazy as our pilot...besides, like he said, I doubt ANY of us could really pilot this thing. Best leave it to the professionals."

[Doggo 218]

That Ken had made the group boot Chimera up together wasn't exactly surprising but the sentimentality of it all was still a bit off putting to the still-skeptical-repairing-the-robot-was-the-right-thing-to-do-lemur. With the improvised nature of the repair job Flurry was fully expecting that if Chimera even began its boot up process, the robot would just erupt into a fresh batch of sparks and crumple to the floor again. Against all odds, the job seemed to hold and the robot was functional again without exploding. To have his work called amateur would have offended Flurry had he done much of anything with Chimera's code. But as it stood his mechanical skills were amateur by his own standards so there wasn't much to argue. The later admission that there might be some talent in him might have pacified Flurry if not for the assurance that whatever talent he had amounted to nothing next to Robotnik.

Flurry took to a lot of thinking as the others spoke with Chimera. The robot was going to fly them out of here which was appreciated. Not that he needed to repair it but tackling this egg-tech was hurting the lemur's brain. Chimera could tout the doctor's brilliance but until any of his coding made real sense it was going to be difficult for Flurry to appreciate it. With the facilities explained the robot was seeking any last minute questions.

"Yeah I got a million but no room left in my brain for the moment." Flurry said with a sigh as he stretched out his back, twisting from side to side. "I'll come pick your brain- er, processors after a nap." the lemur decided, a yawn punctuating the point. How long had he been slumped over working on Chimera? Probably not nearly as long as it felt but the body wanted what the body wanted and right now that was sleep.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

The team seemed to be all in agreement that further questioning was not needed.  Ken nodded.  At Flurry's statement, the Mechanoid Hedgehog could only offer a grumble of protest.

"Don't push your luck, Lemur."  He scoffed.  "And you, Ken?"  

"My brain's Zen as hell!  Nothing's rattling around in here up at the moment..."  Ken paused.  "But Chimera...your home and friends...don't you need to protect them?"  Chimera's hands gripped the vessel's large steering wheel a bit tighter.  

"There's nothing left of the Old Egg Empire left on this Island...the Egg Pawns that patrol the perimeter have long since lost any sense of self...only duty remains.  They'll be happy to patrol the island until their circuits give out."  Chimera then opened a compartment of his arm to reveal a small rectangular device.  "My brother...Metal Sonic...he lives in here now.  So I will gladly take him along to find a new home for the Egg Empire."  Chimera turned an eye.  "Now...with that unnecessary sentimentality behind us...let us depart immediately."  Chimera flipped three switches in a rhythmic sequence, and pressed a large red button that lay to the side of the third.  After a long few seconds, the engines roared to life.  The ship rattled, throwing Ken a little off balance.  He soon found his footing, as he peered out of the windows.  Light poured in from the ceiling, as the hangar doors opened from the top of the compound.  Chimera pulled the wheel into his chest, and the ship rose into the air.  Ken could feel his stomach sink.

"Aw man...I knew I shouldn't've had such a heavy breakfast!  I thought I worked it all off!"  Ken became a bit queasy, as he fumbled around the deck.  

"Please do not vomit on the Great Doctor's ship.  I might seriously reconsider letting you live."  

Ken stood straight to his feet, a shock of ice running down his spine from the Badnik's threat.

"Aye aye, Captain!"  As the ship slowly rose out of the hangar's bay, the crew would be able to see the vast ocean spread out ahead of them.  "Whoah..."  Ken's mouth hung open.  "I've never seen so much water before!"  

"Please grab a hold of something.  We're going to start accelerating soon."  Ken nodded, and hung on to a nearby chair.  "Eggsaw Cruiser Mach 2.7.0.1, engage thrusters to maximum output!"  Chimera pressed a pedal near the bottom of the steering wheel, causing the ship to fly towards the open sky.  Ken hung on, as the ship soared through the air, leaving Old Eggland behind.  

"We're gonna have to come up with a better name for this thing."  Ken said, smiling towards the others.  "And a Team Name!  We've gotta have something cool like that when we're on a mission to save the world, right?"  

"I say we stick with Eggsaw Cruiser Mach 2.7.0.1....a perfect name made by a perfect organic.  As for a Team Name...Team Meatbags +1."  

"You've got no style Chimera."  Ken could hear Chimera's offensive weaponry fire up.  "But it'll definitely be voted on!  As for my suggestions, how about...the Dawn Piercer!  And Team Shadow Stompers!"  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

This was definitely something he wasn't used to...cruise ships, sure...but a air ship that literally was zooming across the skies way up off the ground...nope, that was a new one. The queasy feeling in his stomach emerged in great fervor, as Zane held his stomach whilst also trying to hold onto something to stabilize him. Of course, he wasn't going to verbalize his queasiness, not after Ken did and immediately getting told not to by Chimera in quite the threatening way.

"Eggsaw Cruiser Mach 2.7.0.1, engage thrusters to maximum output!"
"We're gonna have to come up with a better name for this thing. And a Team Name!  We've gotta have something cool like that when we're on a mission to save the world, right?"
"I say we stick with Eggsaw Cruiser Mach 2.7.0.1....a perfect name made by a perfect organic.  As for a Team Name...Team Meatbags +1."
"You've got no style Chimera. But it'll definitely be voted on!  As for my suggestions, how about...the Dawn Piercer!  And Team Shadow Stompers!"

"H-Honestly..." Zane finally spoke up, having regained his composure from the sudden take off. "We could always combine the two for it...the Egg Dawn Piercer perhaps? That alone is a pretty chill name." he smirked, before crossing his arms and humming to himself slightly. "As for the team name...Shadow Stompers and Meatbags +1 sound too...wordy. We need something that just rolls right off the tongue, ya know?"

He began to pace, rubbing his chin slightly. "Hey, how about Team Horizon?" Zane asked the others. "I mean, the sun rises and sets over the horizon...and if Ken wants to use Dawn Piercer, perhaps we can use Horizon as the team name. Just a general thought really."

[Doggo 218]

Flurry found it comforting he could get a rise out of a robot of all things. Either that spoke to his talent for it or to Eggman's coding capabilities that Chimera had enough personality to react. Though it seemed that idea of a nap was going to be prolonged a touch longer as the robot hedgehog began fiddling with the controls. While the take off was not an unexpected result, the speed at which the machine was ready and sailing through the air was a bit alarming. Still, Flurry seemed a lot less bothered than the others, Ken especially, but then flight was something of a normal occurrence for him. Not ever this fast of course but the experience counted for something.

With everyone settling in to life in the fast lane the question of names came up. Chimera had official designations for the ship, not remarkably helpful but expected of a robot. At least his team name was at least an attempt at humor. Ken wanted a better ship name and a team name which seemed like a bit of a jump. To the lemur they were all just victims of similar circumstance, not destined allies. So the idea of naming a group he didn't yet intend to stay with seemed like something of a fool's errand. Ken's names were something else too. Dawn Piercer and Shadow Stompers? This kid really never had been anywhere in his life. Something to bring up with his grandpa if they ever met. Zane came back with a much more reasonable Team Horizon though agreed to the ship name.

"Hey, whatever works for you guys." Flurry started, trying to keep it casual and not diving into the full on apathy he felt toward the subject. "I tend to agree simpler names are better" he said, seeming to side with Zane, "Let's not talk about the files i've named too simple and lost track of course, gotta be balanced." the lemur muttered at double time his usual talking tempo.

"Yo, pilot! How long you think til the Egg-PIercer-Mach-whatever hits land?" he playfully shouted to Chimera while mixing the ship names in whatever first came to mind. 

[Mr. Hyde 204]

"H-Honestly...We could always combine the two for it...the Egg Dawn Piercer perhaps? That alone is a pretty chill name." Zane smirked, before crossing his arms and humming to himself slightly, most likely mulling around for a team name.  Ken waited patiently as Zane spoke up again. "As for the team name...Shadow Stompers and Meatbags +1 sound too...wordy. We need something that just rolls right off the tongue, ya know?"

Ken nodded with his eyes clothes, head empty.  Zane began to pace, rubbing his chin slightly!  Ken looked on enthusiastically at the deep thought of the Arctic Wolf

"Hey, how about Team Horizon?" Zane asked the others. "I mean, the sun rises and sets over the horizon...and if Ken wants to use Dawn Piercer, perhaps we can use Horizon as the team name. Just a general thought really."

Ken's mouth fell agate.  

"WHOAH!  TEAM HORIZON SOUNDS AWESOME!!!"  Ken shot a fist into the air.  He shot the wolf a huge thumbs up.  "Nice one Zane!  What are everyone else's thoughts!?"

"Hey, whatever works for you guys." Flurry seemed apathetic to the whole deal. "I tend to agree simpler names are better"

"Hmph."  Chimera grunted in annoyance.  "I don't recall ever agreeing to be apart of some team...but Team Horizon is...acceptable.  As if to say that the Egg Empire will conquer wherever the Horizon touches."  Chimera thought of the scenario.  A dream that would surely come true.  "As a compromise, I ask that the name of the vessel be deemed the Egg Piercer."  

Ken grumbled to himself in protest.

"Yeah, but this thing ain't piercing any eggs!  But we are travelling towards a new day!  I say we trim it down to Dawn Piercer."  

"Be reasonable, Hedgehog.  After all, this ship would not be ours to commandeer without the Genius of the Good Doctor.  I demand your respects be paid to him." 

Ken frazzled his quills, biting his upper lip.  The Iron Golem was totally in the right on this one...but it was so lame.

"Fine.  We'll give credit where credit is due...even if it is to Eggman.  This ship is henceforth named the Egg Piercer!"  

"Yo, pilot! How long you think til the Egg-Piercer-Mach-whatever hits land?"  Flurry asked.  

"Eggland was a very isolated island, and our cruising speed is slower than normal.  I calculate that we will make landfall with the western continent in five to seven hours."  In response to the answer, Ken gave a loud yawn.  

"Well, that gives me enough time to take a little nap.  I say we should all get some rest after that fight.  Who knows what the world looks like right now..."  The grim situation from before had started to run itself through his mind.  If everyone here had encountered Mephiles...that means he must've been all over the globe at once.  Ken made his way to the crew quarters, and grabbed a bed for himself.  It wasn't as comfortable as the one back home.  As a matter of fact, it felt like he was sleeping on a flat piece of steel.  He closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

"Ken...."  A voice rang out to him in his dream.  "You couldn't save him this time either...how pathetic."

Ken grunted.  The voice seemed so familiar, yet too faint and too distant to recognize.  He'd always hear voices in his dreams...but they had never been this close before.  His sleep was interrupted by the sound of a blaring siren.  He could feel himself being lifted into the air slightly.  Across the ship, a red alarm was ringing off in every room.  The speakers then picked up Chimera's voice.  

"Our fuel reserves were much lower than anticipated.  Prepare for crash landing on the Mobian Ocean."

"Great..."  Ken groaned, as he tried to get himself somewhere to hold onto.  

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"It was an extermination...From what I can tell, connection to the force is hereditary...At least one of your immediate kin had to have the potential, even if they never learned to unlock it...It's very likely that your home wasn't spared in the purge."

Unlike last time...Zane's dream this time, he could remember small things...but this was one phrase that remained with him, though he couldn't make out everything that was said. He didn't know why, nor who's voice it happened to be. There wasn't an entity he could see or make out a figure, nor was there any specifics of the dream. Though he did know he could see bright flashes, quite a few of them in fact. What they were, he knew not, all he knew were these flashes were heavy...and they carried weight...almost like they came from the heat of battle.

Zane reached a hand out towards the direction of the flashes of light, but the sounds of only a piercing howl filled the now shadowy void and the rumbles of a cackling laughter that began to pierce his ears, making it almost deafening for him.

It woke him up in a sudden manner...well, not the deafening laughter and piercing howls, it was more or less the blaring siren that Zane found was going off while in his room. The wolf let out a loud groan, though it was clearly muffled by the sounds of the siren. Chaos sake...why does this happen when I'm trying to sleep? This is SO not chill!!

"Our fuel reserves were much lower than anticipated. Prepare for crash landing on the Mobian Ocean."

"Wait...WHAT?!?!" Zane shouted, immediately grabbing a hold of something for the emergency crash landing. "WHAT KIND OF SHIP DOESN'T MAKE SURE THEY DON'T HAVE THE PROPER FUEL?!?!"

[Doggo 218]

Like Ken and Zane, Flurry was also having a dream. But the dream the lemur was having was very different. Flurry felt like he was flying and he was, but not with his powers. He was on a ship. Very creative except it wasn't the egg-whatever it was called, it was something like Roxie's ship. He hadn't seen it very long so the details weren't exact. In fact the only reason he knew it was Roxie's ship was she was there with him. But something was off. Ah that's what it was. They'd traded outfits. That seemed fine. Until Flurry realized what that meant given what he normally wore. Even as just an imagination in his dream the lemur was a little more than excited to be seeing this.

The actual conversation of the dream made almost no sense. The two simply tossed out various jargon at each other of the things they'd discussed in their brief meeting. Things about the ship and the chaos tracker. All the while they moved closer to each other. Now they were both dressed like Flurry normally was. Their faces were getting closer, lips inching ever closer to each other when all of a sudden Roxie's face was replaced with Chimera's, yelling something about fuel reserves.

"Ugh!" Flurry jolted awake and was floating off of his bed by his own powers as part of the fight or flight response the series of events had triggered. Though now that he was awake the power stopped and he fell a few inches with a thud while Chimera's message continued informing them they'd be crashing into the ocean.

"Stupid, how did we not check fuel before leaving?" He muttered to himself before standing and thinking of what to do. Rather than grab onto something Flurry focused on gathering wind around him and he slowly lifted himself off the floor. If he could keep it concentrated enough he could just float in the center of the room, not hit any of the walls and push anything that fell on him away. In theory it was perfect but having just woken up it remained to be seen if he could pull it off.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Doggo

[Mr. Hyde 204]

 

Chimera pulled the steering wheel close to him, trying his best to make sure the ship wouldn't nose dive directly into the Mobian Ocean.  His gears whirred, as all of his strength was being used, as he could feel the wings of the ship taking a beating from the drag of the air.  If he could grit his teeth, they would surely be cracked to all hell.  The Egg Piercer rapidly approached the surface of the ocean, and Chimera was almost about to lose control of the wheel, when Ken came from behind.  Chimera was disgusted that the Mobian thought himself worthy to handle the wheel, but the situation was dire.  Ken gripped the wheel with all of his might as well, and with their combined effort, the ship managed to make a slightly angled fall.  

"Prepare for crash landing in 3.....2....."  Ken closed his eyes, and loosened himself up for the impact.  "1!"  

KERSPLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ship made contact with the Ocean, causing a mighty eruption of noise and water to spout into the air above and around.  The ship shook violently, and supplies were thrown all throughout the place.  It was over almost as immediately as it had began, and the ship was now floating on the Mobian Sea.  If they had nosedived, no doubt the ship would've taken water and the vessel would be their final resting place.  Ken had found himself at the back of the main deck, his head knocked against the wall, and his feet outstretched in front of him.  

"If you are dead, please kindly remove your corpse from the Egg Piercer immediately."  Chimera's voice rang out throughout the Egg Piercer.  

"Way to go Captain..."  Ken grunted, rubbing the back of his quills.  "Any reason we took off on empty?"  

Chimera, still standing at the wheel with his feet mechanically anchored to the ground, twisted his entire torso backwards to face Ken.  

"All the fuel that was in this ship is all of the fuel that was left in Old Eggland.  Be grateful, Hedgehog.  We covered a significant distance in the six hours travelled so far...however we are still farther off from the mainland shore than anticipated."  

"So we're stranded in the middle of the ocean...is that what you're telling me?"  

"The Eggsaw Cru-...I mean the Egg Piercer is Seaworthy, and can travel across the ocean.  We just have to shift into aquatic travel mode."  Chimera unclamped himself from the floor, and walked over to the control panel.  "There have been small breaches in the ships hull...but I believe your comrades can be of assistance."  The speakers picked up again.  "Wolf.  I suspect there are small leaks in the hull in the lower decks.  If you are still alive, please freeze them over before we sink.  Lemur, I implore you to check the code of the ship to make sure our shift into Aquatic Mode runs smoothly.  You will find an access panel in most rooms."

"I'm surprised you can ask a meat bag like us for a favor so nicely!"  Ken laughed.  

"I might detest you Mobians, but I'm no flesh-ridden barbarian."  Chimera turned away from Ken.  "The extra help you provided was greatly appreciated.  Without your help, my mission would have ended here.  I thank you, Ken."  

"Well shucks!  You aren't so bad after all for a metal monster!"  Ken smiled.  "We're a team now!  That means we help each other!  No matter what!"  

"Hmph.  My memory logs still do not show any signs of me confirming being apart of your so called 'team'."  Chimera turned his head to face one eye at Ken.  "However, I haven't outright denied your proposal yet."

[Chaos Sonic 442]

Zane found himself quite rattled after the initial impact of the Egg Piercer into the ocean, but once he got his bearings back, he let out an audible groan to no one in particular. "I don't think anyone ordered a literal shipwreck to occur after all this..." he grumbled before hearing Chimera's autonomous voice break through the speakers yet again.

"Wolf.  I suspect there are small leaks in the hull in the lower decks.  If you are still alive, please freeze them over before we sink."

Finally leaving his room after hearing this, Zane grumbled further. "Hey Zane...why don't you go to the lower decks and freeze the leaks!" he muttered, trying his best to navigate through the ship. "But does anyone even ask if I know where anything is?" The arctic wolf wasn't too thrilled about proceedings thus far with this, but alas, he had to do what he had to do. Eventually, however, he did find a map up on one of the corridor walls...maybe that egg-guy wasn't such a dunce after all with his plannings.

---

Following the map, Zane finally made it to the hull in the lower decks of the Egg Piercer. And true to the murder-bot's suspicions, there were indeed leaks all over the place. "Sheesh...he wasn't kidding...guess I better do this quickly." he muttered, already taking the moisture in the air and beginning to have it drop in temperature...now being able to see his breath. In a few moments, Zane began to freeze the water coming from the leaks and for good measure, he removed the access ice that was now currently protruding from the once leaking areas in the hull.

"That ought to do it...hopefully this'll hold for a while." he sighed, now preparing to return back up top.